


XY

by iscribble



Category: Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri.
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Angst, BDSM, Brother/Brother Incest, Brothers, Bullying, Child Abuse, Coming of Age, Dehumanization, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Explicit Sexual Content, Gang Rape, Gay, Gay Sex, Half-Sibling Incest, Heavy Angst, Humiliation, Incest, Kenato, M/M, Master/Pet, Master/Slave, Oral Sex, Physical Abuse, Rape, Rape/Non-con Elements, Romance, Rough Sex, Sex, Sex Toys, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Content, Sexual Slavery, Sibling Abuse, Sibling Incest, Submission, Taito, Violence, Yaoi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-01-04 16:24:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 64,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18347330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iscribble/pseuds/iscribble
Summary: Taichi has hurt Yamato since birth.Unbeknownst to both of them, Taichi has always been attracted to Yamato.But things don't go down so well when you're male, in love, and . . . brothers.Throw in abusive older brothers and a friend, Ken, who's crushing on Yamato too - and things really don't look so good.





	1. One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taito. Though, be warned, Taichi and Yamato are half-brothers here – therefore, it is INCEST. Gasp. There are also acts of cruelty, abuse, rape, and the like – so please don't read any further if you think you can't stomach that. This is definitely an "M" rating.
> 
> As stated, this will end a Taito. But the other major coupling – or rather the coupling acting as an obstacle before (between?) Taito – is Kenato. Ken is the same age as Taichi, and they're a year older than Yamato. There are also three "main" original characters . . . they're Taichi and Yamato's older brothers. They exist to cause problems! (I didn't want to use other existing characters for the "roles".)
> 
> So this is AU, of course. Taichi and Yamato will seem out of character because they were brought up differently – but hopefully their "real" characters will emerge throughout future chapters as the story progresses . . . at least I am hoping to flesh out their characters to mirror similarities between their canon selves. Yay! (I will probably fail. orz)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't condone incest or any of the acts written (except homosexuality, of course). Thinking that they actually occur in real life makes me sad. Well, incest doesn't make me sad . . . just disturbed. So why did I write it – especially considering Taichi and Yamato aren't brothers in any way in canon? Well, because incest in fiction is kinda sorta hot. And it makes the story emote better, I think. Or I just felt like writing it. Ahem.
> 
> (Again I stress the "M" rating. You might be disturbed.)
> 
> Onwards!

Taichi Yagami observed his younger half-brother from his view on an adjacent couch. The television was tuned to some mindless soap opera, though like Taichi, it didn't seem as though Yamato was paying much attention. His eyes were directed at the screen, but they were dull and glossed over, allowing Taichi's eyes to roam freely over the other boy without being noticed.

Yamato's mother had been Caucasian – at least in part – because Yamato had light skin that seemed to glow; the result of an oriental mixture with their father's full Japanese blood, Taichi guessed. Half-casts were always so striking, and Yamato definitely wasn't an exception. Unless, of course, he was exceptionally  _more_  beautiful.

He had silky blond hair that seemed to change in varying shades and tones depending on the light they were under – as if his hair somehow knew instinctively how best it would look in any situation. His eyes were an intense sea of blue; dark, and yet they seemed like glass almost – crystalline. Taichi didn't know how that was possible. They were framed by lashes just a slice thicker than most boys; and in direct opposition, his eyebrows were just a shade thinner than those of the same gender. His perfect features contrasted heavily with his pale, radiant complexion.

He looked exotic.

But Taichi didn't know why he was so fascinated with the way Yamato looked. Was it because he was so different?

Taichi and his older brothers all had dark features like their father – dark hair, dark eyes, dark skin. And here Yamato was, created by the very same father, all fair-skinned and pretty – he obviously took after his mother.

_Gorgeous._

Taichi sometimes wondered why Yamato's mother hadn't wanted him, apart from obvious reasons such as his being the child of a married man. Were her decisions on leaving Yamato in his best interest, or her own? If it was the former, Taichi noted, she had made a grave mistake.

Natsuko Takaishi had abandoned Yamato shortly after he was born, forcing their father Susumu to reluctantly take him in. Taichi's mother Yuuko had tried to cope with the fact that her husband had fathered a bastard child during a drunken one night stand, but ultimately couldn't – she took her own life after only a few months, aghast at her husband's infidelity, and the existence of a child they had not together created.

Their father had turned to alcohol as his escape. He had loved their mother deeply, and heavily regretted his alcohol-induced night with Natsuko – Yamato was his biggest mistake, and it had cost him his wife. He had five sons to raise by himself.

Yamato was only a few months old, Taichi barely a year old, Eito two years old, Toru six, and Hideki ten. Hideki, being the oldest, took on the role of parenting his younger brothers amidst his father's break down, with some help from Toru. Like their father, Hideki and Toru regarded Yamato coldly, even though he was just a baby – Yamato was, after all, the cause of their mother's suicide.

Their father had soon developed a violent side to himself, with the aide of alcohol no doubt, but Taichi could not recall a time when his father had ever hit him or his older brothers. Just Yamato. And he recalled a lot of them.

The earliest memory Taichi had of his father's abuse on Yamato was when he was about four. Yamato was only three, and he had spilt some apple juice on the table. Their father had grabbed Yamato up by the hair, and slapped him hard across the face. Yamato had cried, and sobbed for hours.

Once, Toru had gotten into a fight at school. Their father had yelled at him, then called for Yamato. At five, he got the beating meant for Toru. Another time Taichi had dragged Yamato with him to the park after school, and they had only started for home when it was getting dark. Since they were only eight and seven, that was too late a time. Only Yamato was hit.

On Hideki's nineteenth birthday, their father had gotten slightly drunk, and had decided to show his sons how to have sex – never mind the fact that he knew Hideki was already sleeping around.

He had grabbed a few condoms and some lubrication, and gathered his sons in his bedroom. He took hold of eight-year-old Yamato and plopped him down onto the bed, before removing his youngest son's clothes. Yamato knew what was coming – his father had been doing this to him for some time, though never in front of his brothers until then.

Hideki, Toru, Eito and Taichi had watched as their father opened the front of his pants and rubbed his penis to gain an erection. He had placed a condom onto his shaft, then slathered lube up and down all over his length, then grunted at Yamato.

Yamato knew what to do – he placed his hands up around his inner thighs to spread his legs further apart, then made a bowel movement in preparation for his father's large penis.

Taichi and Eito had looked astonished that Yamato knew what to do from a mere grunt, but Toru and Hideki had looked less impressed – they had suspected for quite a while that their father had been sexually abusing their youngest brother.

Yamato had whimpered loudly when their father inserted only about half of himself inside. He told his sons that considering Yamato's age and size, any more would be too much for him, and that he didn't want to break him – but girls their age would certainly be able to take their entire length.

The other boys had watched as their father gripped the bottom half of his penis with his hand, to stop further than four inches going in, as he moved in and out of his son. Yamato was whimpering and panting and trying not to cry, his cheeks tinted red from the new audience.

After their father had finished, to Yamato's dismay, he had let Hideki and Toru fuck him. Eito and Taichi did not, however, as they were only nine and ten. But they had observed, and Taichi couldn't forget the overwhelming surge of emotions running through him.

Of course at the time he had no raging hormones, so the experience of watching had been in no way. . . sexual. But Yamato was obviously in pain, and the act had been different to just physical abuse, so Taichi didn't know how he felt about it exactly. He was torn between being intrigued, and confused as to whether it should have happened in the first place. He never said anything though.

Three years after that their father had crashed his car whilst driving home intoxicated. He was killed instantly.

Because Hideki was twenty one, and considering the ages of the others, the courts had given Hideki full custody of his brothers, as opposed to sending them to different foster homes. Yamato had been eleven, Taichi twelve, Eito thirteen and Toru seventeen.

Since their father was gone, it would seem like things would look up for Yamato – but he had always clung to their father, regardless that he had physically and sexually abused him on a regular basis. Yamato knew no other way of life – their father had always treated him like that, and he knew his place.

In rare instances, their father would treat Yamato like the others and even tell him that he loved him. That was enough proof for Yamato to think that their father  _did_  love him, in some twisted way. Yamato didn't know it before he died, but their father had acted as a sort of barricade between Yamato and his brothers – Hideki and Toru in particular.

They had all been mean to Yamato growing up, as their father allowed that, but they weren't allowed to cross certain lines – their father was the authority figure, and he had final say in everything. Yamato was protected from what Hideki and Toru  _could've_  done to him during those years.

But after their father died, Hideki was the alpha male, and no one was there any more to restrict his actions. He was free to do what he wanted.

When their father had beat Yamato, it was maybe a few swipes to his face, and a couple of kicks and punches to the stomach. When Hideki and Toru beat Yamato, it was more alike rough street fighting – grabbing him, pulling him, pushing him into walls – with numerous kicks and punches. And their beatings lasted longer.

They raped him more often, too. Eito and Taichi were both now old enough to join in, though very rarely did Taichi participate, and even then he'd just make Yamato suck him off. He had never anally penetrated Yamato. Taichi didn't know why exactly, since it was no big deal to the others – it was just another way to hurt and humiliate the blond.

Taichi figured he was satisfied with just hurting Yamato with words and cruel treatment, and didn't have to sexually abuse his younger brother just to make it clear how powerless Yamato was against him.

But why had he always been so fixated on staring at Yamato since they were little?

Yamato diverted his gaze from the television screen as he felt eyes on him, and glanced at Taichi, of course catching his eye. He quickly turned back to the screen, before glancing back at Taichi a moment later to see if he was still looking at him. He was.

"What are you staring at?" Taichi accused, even though it had been he who was staring at Yamato.

"Nothing," was Yamato's quick, unassuming reply, not wanting to start something.

Taichi liked Yamato's voice, even when it sounded so small and hesitant. He imagined it would sound smoother, silkier – when Yamato wasn't so on guard.

"Oh yeah?" Taichi retorted in a familiar challenging, gruff tone he so often used on Yamato. "What's been happening on the show, then?"

He didn't think Yamato would know – though, neither did he. He had been busy staring while Yamato's mind had been off in space. Yamato could lie about what was happening, and Taichi wouldn't know – but Yamato didn't know that.

Yamato opened his mouth slightly, then swallowed, before attempting to answer. "I . . . I don't know . . . sorry." Yamato ended his lines often with an apology. Taichi had always found it slightly amusing.

"So you were staring at me," Taichi stated, knowing this was untrue, but not caring. Yamato's face scrunched up in confusion, as he had thought he had caught Taichi staring at  _him_.

"No . . ." Yamato started, though unsure of what to say next without stepping on Taichi's toes. "I was just thinking about stuff . . ." He chose not to imply that Taichi was the one staring, hopefully letting the subject drop.

"Why did you look at me whilst thinking of 'stuff', then?" Taichi didn't let it go, curious as to what Yamato would say.

Yamato raked his brain to think of something unoffensive, though that was pretty tough since his brothers always managed to twist something completely innocent into an insult. He came up with nothing, since he figured if he lied about what he was looking at, Taichi would turn around and say he was the one staring at him after all – and thus he would have had just lied to Taichi. In which case, Taichi would probably hurt him. So he stayed silent.

After several more seconds of silence, with an unimpressed eyebrow raised, Taichi spoke, "What were you thinking of?"

"Just . . . school stuff . . ." Yamato replied slowly. He really wanted the conversation to end before Taichi got the chance to get really annoyed.

"Oh, yeah?" Taichi figured it was valid, as tomorrow would be the first day of the new school year. In fact, Yamato was going to be starting his first year of high school, while Taichi would be starting his second. "What about it?"

Yamato didn't know whether Taichi was genuinely trying to have a decent conversation with him, or whether he was humouring himself. He wasn't used to holding conversations with his brothers, as they often kept him out of their discussions.

"Just . . . worried, I guess. About starting a new school . . ." Yamato trailed off. It  _was_  true, but he excluded his main thoughts – that he had actually been thinking about how much he wished he wasn't going to the same high school as Taichi and Eito, and how much they were going to no doubt torture him during school hours with their friends on top of what he endured at home.

"Oh," Taichi replied, looking bored. His attention then turned to the front hallway as a sound of a lock, and subsequently the front door opening and closing, were heard. A few seconds later Toru came into their view.

"Hey Taichi," Toru greeted, ignoring Yamato's presence.

"Hey," Taichi replied, flicking his eyes to what he hoped was boxes of pizza in Toru's arms. "Pizza?"

"Yeah," Toru confirmed. "To celebrate the start of another year of college. For me. And high school, for you and Eito. I guess."

"Thanks for the enthusiasm," Taichi replied dryly.

Toru grinned, then frowned as he glanced at Yamato. "Get off the couch," he ordered, eyes narrowed.

Yamato quickly did as told and sat on the living room floor. He disliked how they always tried to make him feel like he was doing something wrong – it wasn't like there was a written rule that he wasn't allowed to sit on the couch. Sometimes he would be sitting there without Toru or anyone else saying anything, and other times – like now – they said something. He disliked how their rules changed based on their moods.

"Did Hideki or Eito fuck you today?" Toru asked casually, as if it were a normal everyday question. Then he added with a snigger, "I know Taichi hasn't."

Taichi gave Toru the finger as the elder smirked back. Yamato shook his head lightly, hoping Toru wasn't going to rape him because of his negative answer.

"Hmm," Toru pondered slowly, studying Yamato's face, who had his head lowered so as not to look him in the eye. Toru smiled as he thought of an idea. "Go get the biggest vibrator. And some sticky tape."

Yamato's hopes died as he got up and slowly headed to Hideki's room to retrieve a vibrator twelve inches in length and five inches in circumference. He grabbed a roll of sticky tape, and a small tube of lube as well, before returning to the living room.

"Take your time," Toru said sarcastically, then looked at the KY Jelly in Yamato's left hand. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't think I said to bring any lube. Did I, Taichi?"

"Nope," Taichi replied, looking half-bored and half-amused.

"W-well, I figured . . ." Yamato stuttered in a tiny voice. Toru always managed to intimidate him just by being there – Hideki had an even worse effect on him.

Toru slapped Yamato hard and sharp, surprising him and making him drop the sticky tape and lube onto the floor. Yamato's right hand instinctively gripped the vibrator tighter, afraid it would fall too, especially if Toru decided to hit him again.

"Don't think for yourself, moron. We think for you." Toru glared at him, then shifted his gaze to Taichi. "You wanna insert it?"

Taichi shrugged. "But it's your area of expertise . . ." Truth be told though, he didn't really want to . . .

"Come on," Toru pressed, smirking. "You've never even inserted your own penis, at least insert this, eh?"

Not wanting to seem soft in front of Toru, Taichi rolled his eyes and held his hand out towards Yamato. "Fine. Give it here." Yamato handed him the vibrator. "I turn it on after, yeah?" he asked Toru, who nodded. "OK. So . . ."

"Pull your pants down and get flat on the floor," Toru barked at Yamato, who did as told, releasing his lower confines and laying face down on the floor obediently.

Toru then sat down on Yamato's back, facing Taichi who was on his knees before Yamato's buttocks. Toru spread Yamato's arse cheeks apart, making the puckered hole of his anus more visible to Taichi.

"It's not gonna go in easily without lube," Toru told Taichi. "But it should be fine. Just ram it in there real hard – don't worry about him."

Toru and Taichi exchanged chuckles as Yamato squeezed his eyes shut, awaiting penetration. Taichi pressed the tip of the vibrator – sculptured like a penis – into Yamato's arse, and felt resistance right away.

"Just keep pushing," Toru urged as Taichi seemed to be struggling to push more in. "There's ten inches left. Come on."

Yamato's anus was so tiny, Taichi observed. It looked so microscopic compared to the large vibrator in his hand – could it really fit? Then again, he had been awed whenever he had watched Hideki, Toru or Eito shove their eight inch cocks completely inside Yamato with relative ease.

Taichi grunted lightly as the head of the vibrator disappeared inside with a strong push. Yamato made some kind of strangled noise, obviously trying to hold back on yelling.

"That's it, since the head's inside it should be easier getting the rest all the way in," Toru smirked. "Especially considering how many times we've broken him in." He laughed, receiving a grin and a nod from Taichi.

Taichi pushed further inside, noticing that Yamato's anus was bleeding, but Toru didn't seem to care, so he didn't say anything. He kept shoving, prodding and twisting the vibrator's way deeper inside, receiving different noises from Yamato.

At last all twelve inches disappeared, and Yamato lay their whimpering with his eyes still closed.

"Well done," Toru clapped Taichi on the shoulder, before grabbing the roll of sticky tape and began securing the vibrator with it, adding to Yamato's discomfort. Yamato didn't even think the tape was needed, for he was sure the vibrator wasn't at risk of falling out, what with being as big and wedged up so far . . .

Toru then got off Yamato and flipped him over, grabbing Yamato's penis and pressing it against the inside of his right thigh, sticky taping them together, supposedly to stop Yamato from gaining an erection or properly relieving himself.

"You can turn the vibrator on now," Toru grinned at Taichi.

Taichi placed his hand at the bottom of the vibrator and pressed the switch on as directed, causing Yamato to jump slightly, making them laugh.

Another sound of the lock and front door opening and closing, and Hideki and Eito had come home, making their way into the living room.

"What . . .?" Eito questioned with a smirk on his face as he saw Yamato on the floor with sticky tape covering his penis and buttocks area.

"Vibrator," Toru answered, mirroring Eito's smirk.

Hideki observed their handiwork with a raised eyebrow, commenting, "What a waste of tape."

The brothers laughed amongst themselves, as Yamato struggled to keep calm from the constant vibrating movement in his lower body.

"OK," Toru pulled Yamato's pants up, before standing up himself. "If you behave we'll take it out tomorrow morning. If you don't . . . you can go to school with that thing buzzing inside you. But then, you'd enjoy that, no?"

Laughter ensued as Yamato got onto his feet awkwardly, trying to center his mind off thinking about the vibrator working inside him. He waited for commands with his head lowered.

"Has he cooked dinner yet?" Hideki queried Toru and Taichi, indicating Yamato.

"No," Taichi replied. "But Toru bought pizza. Do we still need him to cook dinner?" Taichi didn't know whether he was just asking a simple question, or trying to help Yamato out with his duties . . .

Eito sniggered, "If we let him cook with a vibrator up his arse he'd probably sperm all over our dinner." The other boys laughed.

"OK," Hideki decided, "Yamato, you're not cooking dinner tonight, so you can forget about having dinner as well. Get lost."

Yamato nodded, avoiding eye contact as per usual, and left to his room that he shared with Taichi. After their father had died Hideki had gotten rid of Yamato's bed, so now he slept on a thin mattress on the ground, with a stuffed animal as his pillow. He also had a cardboard box in the corner of the room where he kept all his clothes – hand-me-downs from his older brothers. Hideki rarely bought him something new.

Yamato closed the door behind him gently, leaving it unlocked as he wasn't allowed to lock it unless one of his brothers, usually Taichi, was in there with him. He went straight to his mattress that he had long since outgrown in size, laying face down as that was the most comfortable position, considering what was up his backside.

He sighed sadly, tears threatening to fall from his eyes – he hated that. He hated how he seemed to cry so easily, how it never took more than a few words from his brothers to crush him emotionally, how he still depended on his brothers regardless –

And he couldn't ignore the vibrator. It was starting to feel  _good_. He moaned softly, his right hand unconsciously going down towards his penis to caress it – only to feel the undesired surface of sticky tape. He groaned, both frustrated and ashamed that the vibrator Taichi had lodged up his arse was making him hard.

He looked at the door. Taichi would be a while eating pizza, wouldn't he? He could turn the vibrator off until Taichi came in, and turn it back on before Taichi noticed it had been off . . . right? He stared harder at the unlocked door, as if it had the answers.

Clenching his fists in sexual frustration, he decided he'd risk it. The vibrator was making him feel so hot, and as it was so large, making his stomach feel like lead, as if something huge had ploughed into him; though he guessed that  _was_  what had happened . . .

He reached down and turned the vibrator off. The soft buzzing stopped, and he waited with baited breath, as though his brothers would notice that the vibrator was no longer emitting any sounds from rooms away.

Nothing.

He relaxed a little, but knew he had to keep his ears focussed on the door for any sounds of Taichi's footsteps approaching. He was less eager to turn the vibrator back on now that it was off, but he knew he had to for the night before Taichi came back. He only hoped he'd manage to drift into a deep sleep, and hardly notice the thing.

Apparently he had thought too much of sleep. Staring at the door for what seemed like hours had made him bored and tired, and he had slowly drifted off. But he awoke with a start as Taichi shook his shoulders.

"Taichi . . .!" he exclaimed, alarmed.

Taichi nodded, then beckoned at Yamato's lower body. "Is it off?"

It was an unneeded question, for they both knew the answer. But as Taichi had posed it, Yamato felt forced to voice an answer.

"Yes . . ." he replied, barely above a whisper. He lowered his eyes and waited for Taichi's reaction, be it verbal or physical – or both.

Taichi stared at him silently for a while, before finally stating, "You must've accidentally switched it off from tossing and turning so much in your sleep." And with that he had gone to his own bed, his back facing Yamato.

Yamato was frozen. Was Taichi being serious? No, his brother had known he had turned it off himself . . . right? But then why did he say it must've been an accident? Surely he wasn't making up an excuse . . . for  _him_? It seemed like it . . . but that made absolutely no sense. Yamato had to be sure.

"Taichi . . .?" he spoke through the darkness, looking at his brother's silhouette. Taichi didn't respond, which would usually deter him, but not this time. "Taichi?" he repeated.

It took a long silence, but Taichi finally grunted in response.

Yamato took a deep breath. "Did you want me to turn it back on . . .?"

Back to silence.

And then, ever so slowly, Taichi pulled his covers up over his head, and burrowed himself closer towards the wall, and further away from Yamato.

He was ignoring Yamato's question.

It was hard to tell who was more surprised and confused – Yamato, or Taichi?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . . If you've made it this far, congrats! I've had to use this first chapter to set the background, so it was slow at the start . . . and I lost momentum as it went on, so excuse the ending. But the fun bits should be in the next chapters! (Note: My definition of fun may not be the same as yours.) Yamato meets Ken, and Taichi's all confused about whether he should hate Yamato or not, leading to him being nice to Yamato one minute, and mean to him the next. Ooh. Cough.
> 
> Review, please?


	2. Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the reviews, especially from those who seem to be really into it! I wouldn't be updating otherwise. (And it took me six months to find time to finish this chapter!)
> 
> And a word of warning again: It only gets more disturbing, so if you can't stomach it, I really recommend you turn back. :P

The next morning when Taichi made his way to the kitchen table, he found Hideki reading a newspaper absentmindedly with his more than half eaten breakfast in front of him. Under the table, it seemed Yamato was busy sucking off their eldest brother. Certainly, it wasn't an unusual scene.

Taichi took a seat in front of the only whole breakfast plate (Toru and Eito's plates were almost empty). He wondered how Hideki could sit there so calmly as Yamato pleasured him – he knew he'd be more, well . . . excited. Purely from the physical effects of it, of course.

Soon he could hear the noise of Yamato sucking and swallowing, and knew Hideki had come. After a minute or so, when Yamato was done cleaning up Hideki's penis with his tongue and zipping him up, he crawled out from under the table.

"Do Taichi," Hideki commanded bluntly, his eyes still on his newspaper.

Yamato's meek eyes looked over at Taichi, who shook his head. "Nah, I'm OK."

Hideki averted his eyes from his newspaper and looked at Taichi. "Let him. You won't make a mess on your uniform, he'll make sure of that. It's your first day of school, come on. Just let him."

Yamato stood there quietly, his face expressionless.

Taichi hesitated before answering, ". . . OK."

Hideki grinned, then turned back to his newspaper. Yamato got down onto the floor again, and crawled under the table, making his way to Taichi's legs. He carefully unzipped Taichi's school pants, and released his penis from the confines of his underwear, and took it into his mouth.

Taichi drank his glass of milk, resisting the urge to moan, as Yamato worked him up and down with his tongue; he was  _really_  good at it. But then, Taichi figured, if you were sucking cock on a regular basis since you were about seven, you'd  _have_  to be something of an expert.

He bit into his sandwich as he neared his orgasm. Yamato's pace decreased then, and Taichi, getting lost in the moment, reached a hand down under the table. He grabbed a fistful of Yamato's hair and forced the blond to deep throat him. He heard a choke at first – from the surprise probably – but then Yamato continued swiftly with long, deep sucks. Finally, Taichi exploded at the back of Yamato's throat, who swallowed it all up rapidly so that there wouldn't be a single drop that escaped to mess up Taichi's uniform.

Hideki lifted an amused eyebrow at Taichi from across the table. "Enjoyed it thoroughly, did you?"

Taichi did look a bit spent. He flipped Hideki off.

"This is why you need a girlfriend, Taichi," Hideki chuckled.

Taichi didn't answer. He had a girlfriend once, back in junior high. Just the one. It didn't last long either, but she was nice and everything. He tried to imagine her sucking him off – but the image just wouldn't come.

Taichi shook his head, placing his near whole sandwich onto his plate. He then drank what little remained of his milk, got up and went to the fridge for a refill, took a small sip, then left it on the table. "I'm done."

Hideki nodded his head absently, still engrossed in his newspaper. "OK, go see if Toru and Eito are ready to go."

Taichi nodded and headed out of the kitchen. Hideki owned their only car and would drive them all – minus Yamato – to their respective school and college before heading to work. Otherwise Toru would take the train to his college, and Taichi and Eito would walk the twenty minutes to Odaiba High.

After a couple of minutes Hideki placed his newspaper down and got up from the table and gave Yamato 500 yen, which was his weekly allowance – or, rather, weekly food money for school. It was a stark contrast to the 5,000 yen he gave the other three every week. It basically bought him two pies and a bottle of coke. A week.

Every now and then random girls (who apparently liked him) would offer him food they'd cooked themselves – for him. He'd always respond awkwardly, not used to talking to people, much less girls, but nevertheless had taken their food gratefully with a smile. That seemed to make them happier, in turn.

But mostly he went without food at school. He was just grateful Hideki gave him anything at all and said his thanks and pocketed the money. He usually tried to spread it out over the week, but he knew he'd spend most of it today due to his lack of food yesterday.

"All yours," Hideki said, gesturing towards the leftover food on the table before leaving the kitchen.

Yamato didn't have to be told twice – missing dinner last night left him starving. He quickly collected their plates together and settled them down onto the floor, before one by one picking them up and scraping their remaining contents into one of the two dog bowls in front of him on the floor.

He then got up to place the empty plates in the sink, before quickly grabbing two empty glasses – Hideki and Toru's – off the table and into the sink as well. Then he grabbed Eito and Taichi's glasses and got down in front of the two dog bowls again, this time emptying the liquids into the other bowl. Eito only had a little milk left, but Taichi's glass had been almost full.

Yamato smiled a little. Taichi always had the most leftovers, and he liked to think his brother did it on purpose, but he really didn't know. It still made him happy though.

Toru, Eito and Taichi walked through the kitchen then, as Yamato ate his breakfast bent over the dog bowls. Toru and Eito sniggered.

"You better hurry," Eito remarked, "school starts in half an hour."

"Guys!" Hideki's voice then barked from the hallway. "I'm leaving without you!"

"We're coming, sheesh," Toru retorted, as the three then disappeared from the kitchen. A minute later, Yamato heard the door opening and closing. They were gone, finally.

He liked it when he was alone, even for a few short minutes. He knew they wouldn't be hurting him in that time period, and it made him feel safe. Though, he knew he wasn't; would never be, probably. He was too dependant on them . . .

Finishing up his breakfast he took a quick shower, pulled on Eito's old uniform, and headed out the door. He practically ran to Odaiba High, because if you were late too often you saw the principal, and Hideki never liked getting calls from the principal regarding Yamato. It angered the eldest to be bothered about the youngest – and he always took it out on him, of course.

Yamato didn't want to be late.

* * *

At the junior high school, Yamato would usually spend recess and lunch inside the classroom; he was known to be a loner and nobody bothered him much. Today, however, was the first day of high school, which meant there were a lot of new faces in his grade; those students who had come from different junior high schools than his own.

This meant, apparently, that every girl he didn't know attempted to flirt with him.

He'd learnt his lesson during that first awkward recess and thus had decided at lunch to roam the school grounds to avoid any further relations with the opposite sex. He really didn't get girls; perhaps because he had grown up in an all-male household. He had nothing against them, but he would've preferred if the guys talked to him instead, though they rarely ever did. And when they did, they would talk about Eito and Taichi. That's what puzzled his peers the most; the fact that Eito and Taichi were his brothers, both of whom were outgoing, whilst he was so . . . reserved.

Yamato sat down on a bench and began eating a cheap corn-on-the-cob he'd bought from the cafeteria. Looking over onto the field in front of him, he noticed Taichi playing soccer with a bunch of guys. His eyes did some scanning; he liked the fact that they were all, simply,  _male_.

His eyes travelled down to their groins, and he attempted to guess their sizes from how big or small their bulges were, even though most looked the same and it was hardly an indication of their actual erect sizes. Still, this activity kept him amused for a while until he finished his corn and realised he was still hungry. Seeing as he only had about 200 yen left for the week, he decided he'd just have to wait for dinner that night – hopefully he'd  _get_  dinner that night.

Wanting some water, he got up and began walking towards the drinking fountains. He must've stayed there longer than he thought as he heard a small chuckle behind him. Turning around, he recognised the guy – a rather  _attractive_  guy – standing there as one of Taichi's friends on the soccer field. He had a smile on his face, so Yamato's alarm went down a bit.

". . . Thirsty," Yamato finally managed quietly.

The other boy chuckled again. "I can see. I'm Ken. And you're . . .?"

"Yamato . . ."

"Yamato." Ken smiled. "Did you want to play soccer? I saw you watching us."

"Oh, um . . . sorry. For watching –"

"What?" Ken said with amused eyes. "You don't need to apologise for that."

". . . Sorry," Yamato repeated, not knowing what else to say. Ken gave another laugh.

"You're a first-year, huh? Don't worry, all those nasty rumours about second and third-years beating up the first-years aren't true. So relax, OK? I'm a second-year myself and I don't plan on hurting you."

"Oh . . . thanks," Yamato replied awkwardly to a chuckling Ken. Apparently this guy thought he was timid because he was new, and not because he was friends with Taichi. He started to walk away from the older boy. "Well . . . bye . . ."

"Hey, wait," Ken said, and Yamato turned back around to face him.

Yamato looked relatively calm, though unsure, but inside he was fearing what the other boy wanted. It was mainly Eito's friends who used him, but there were a few of Taichi's friends as well . . . though this guy had been nice to him so far, so maybe he didn't know about their home life. "Yes?" he voiced timidly.

Ken walked a few steps closer to him. "Have you got friends? I mean . . . did you make new friends today?"

"No . . ." Yamato replied with a confused expression. What kind of question was that?

"Really?" Ken asked, visibly surprised. "I'd have thought a guy who looked like you would be pretty popular . . ."

Yamato's cheeks tinged a light shade of red. "I . . . um, I'm not very good company . . ."

"Oh?" Ken quirked an eyebrow, then broke into a soft smile. "I think you're all right. Say, how about you and I hang out after school? That way I can really judge whether or not you're 'not very good' company."

Yamato was a bit taken aback. Sure, a few girls had asked him to 'hang out' with them before, and he'd always decline, but never did a guy ask him . . . ever. He wasn't 'one of the guys' and no male had ever shown an interest in being his friend. He didn't blame them, of course, for it was his reserved nature that kept them away; and it was the way he wanted it. Well, the way he wanted it due to circumstances he couldn't control.

"So?" Ken asked when Yamato didn't reply. "Yay, nay? We can go get some ice cream at the mall."

"I . . . I don't have any money . . ." Yamato finally replied, embarrassed.

Well, he had money, but 200 yen was hardly worth mentioning, especially since it had to last him the rest of the week. Besides, ice cream to him was a 'luxury'; he couldn't afford to spend what little money he had on junk food when he needed  _real_  food in his system. The last time he ate ice cream . . . well, he must've been nine or ten and his dad had bought him a cone for Christmas or something.

"Oh no worries," Ken replied. "I'll pay for you."

Yamato was tempted, but felt forced to decline. Besides, what if this guy was just playing around with him? "But that . . . wouldn't be fair."

"It's just ice cream," Ken smiled genuinely. "What, 300, 400 yen? It's not going to break my bank."

". . . Well, I can only stay about an hour or so . . ." he relented hesitantly. His brothers didn't mind where he went after school as long as one of them hadn't specifically told him he needed to be somewhere, or as long as he got back home before six to start dinner. Usually he'd go to the library just to keep away from home for as long as possible, or he'd go to the mall to eat whatever food samples there were.

"That's fine." Ken grinned, then added teasingly, "I mean it's not like a  _date_  or anything." He'd meant it as a joke between two guys, but couldn't help his tone being slightly flirtatious.

Yamato gave him a small unsure smile in return.

* * *

Yamato shot Ken what he hoped was his best grateful smile as he finished off his 400 yen ice cream. He had tried to convince Ken it was OK if he bought him a 60 yen cone from McDonald's, but Ken refused, saying it wasn't 'real' ice cream. Yamato was rather glad he had.

To Ken, Yamato seemed like a kid; he just seemed so  _innocent_ , eating his ice cream slowly as if savouring the taste of something wonderful, and he wouldn't stop thanking him, who thought his over gratefulness was kind of strange (it  _was_  just ice cream) – but also cute. Really cute.

"I better be going," Yamato said, an apologetic look on his face. Even though they had walked together after school to the mall and sat around eating ice cream and talked for forty five minutes or so, his whole composure was still a bit unsure, and his voice was always so small, Ken thought, as if he wasn't used to talking much. "Thanks again, for . . . being really nice to me."

Ken smiled. "Well I didn't think being mean to you would go down so well. I'm glad you enjoyed your ice cream so much. Perhaps we can do this again some other time? Possibly a different junk food."

Yamato gave a small laugh, surprising himself and Ken. They smiled at each other; one awkward, the other encouraging.

"I'll . . . see you at school tomorrow," Yamato said, standing up from the booth they were in.

"I'm glad you said that," Ken responded. "Because  _I_  was planning to see you at school tomorrow. But now I know that  _you're_  planning to see me at school tomorrow too. That can only equal success."

Yamato grinned down at him. "I'll see you. And thanks."

"'Thanks' and all its variants must be your favourite words," Ken remarked with a smile. "Oh, and 'sorry'."

Yamato stayed smiling but it slipped a little as a light shade of sadness passed through his face, not going unnoticed by Ken. If he had said something wrong, he didn't know what.

"Uh, sorry. Just a joke, Yamato," Ken made sure to say quickly.

"Oh – no. Don't – don't say sorry . . ." Yamato said, flustered. No one said sorry to him – ever. He was the one who was always meant to say sorry – he couldn't have the nicest guy he'd ever met say  _sorry_  to  _him_. Ken didn't have to and he didn't deserve it.

Ken was a little confused. "OK . . . I'd apologise again, but clearly, you wouldn't like that . . ."

Shit. He'd fucked up. Now Ken hated him. "I'm – I'm sorry," Yamato spluttered, before quickly walking away.

Ken would've called or went after him but – well, he was more than a little confused. He sat in the booth trying to decipher what had just happened, exactly. Yamato just seemed to freak after his apology and then . . .? Poof. He was gone.

It was all very weird. Yamato was very weird. But . . .

Well, it all went back to Ken thinking he was cute. Not just in looks – certainly, he scored major points there – but his hesitant personality and the little quirks . . .

He liked him.

He just wondered whether Yamato liked him back.

During their talks he had made several subtle hints about his sexuality and his interest in Yamato, and he hoped they had been picked up, as Yamato didn't seem to be fazed by those hints. Just shy. And cute.

Ken was let out of his thoughts as he was suddenly joined in the booth by two of his friends – Daisuke and Taichi.

"'Sup, man?" Daisuke greeted.

Taichi looked at the two empty ice cream glasses on the table and asked with a teasing grin, "Was there a girl here?"

"All right, man!" Daisuke nudged Ken with an equally teasing grin. "I was starting to think you were gay or something."

"Ha ha," Ken said good-naturedly. He  _was_  gay, but no one knew besides his parents and brother. And he wasn't planning to come out in high school and face all that prejudice shit, so . . .. "What about Taichi, huh? I've never seen him with a girl."

"He had a girlfriend back in junior high," Daisuke replied before Taichi could say something.

Taichi nodded in agreement. "What he said."

"Whatever," Ken replied. "What are you two bozos doing here?"

"Just hangin'. We were about to go to Taichi's to play some video games and then we saw you through the window! So we thought we'd be nice and stuff and ask you if you wanted to come with?"

"Video games?" Ken pondered. "Sure. I rule at 'Donkey Madness'."

* * *

Taichi unlocked the apartment door and stepped one foot inside – before backtracking and closing the door a second later, bumping into his two friends who were behind him.

"What?" Daisuke asked, a tad annoyed.

"Wait here for a second. I just need to do something," Taichi told them as he re-opened the door and disappeared inside, closing the door in their faces. Daisuke gave Ken a confused expression, and Ken shrugged in return.

Inside the apartment Taichi swiftly walked into the living room on a scene he expected to see based on the noises he heard prior; Eito thrusting into Yamato from behind on the couch.

"Jesus Eito," Taichi began, "my friends are here! Take it to your room, yeah?"

"I couldn't find him at lunch today," Eito indicated Yamato by thrusting particularly hard, "so I'm punishing him for not being available."

"Yeah, that's great and all,  _but_   _my friends are here_ ," Taichi repeated, "so take it to your room!"

Eito sighed dramatically and, holding the base of his condom, pulled out of their younger brother. The pain on Yamato's face was obvious; Eito had after all just raped him after a night of having a huge vibrator up his arse.

"C'mon," Eito said, grabbing Yamato and pushing him towards his room, "we're not done yet."

Taichi squashed a tiny sense of pity before turning out of the living room and to the front door to let his friends in.

* * *

An hour or so later, Taichi and his two friends were still in the living room playing video games; currently it was a fighting match between Taichi and Ken, so Daisuke was a bit bored, looking around aimlessly at his surroundings.

A small object between the crevice of the couch then caught his eye, and he automatically retrieved it. It was a tube of lube. He sniggered, "Hey Taichi, what's this for?"

Taichi glanced at the object in Daisuke's hand and groaned inwardly; Eito must've left it from his fuck with Yamato. "It's one of my brothers."

"I knew it!" Daisuke exclaimed. "I mean, five boys? At least one of you  _had_  to be gay."

Taichi scoffed, "No one's gay. Lube is used for more than just gay sex, you know? Like jacking off? And besides, a guy and a girl can have anal sex too."

"Right, right," Daisuke replied, a joking twinkle in his eyes. Taichi shoved him good-naturedly.

"Five boys?" Ken asked. "I thought you only had three older brothers."

"I do," Taichi replied. "But I have a younger one as well."

Ken nodded. He had only known both Taichi and Daisuke for a year; they met their first year of high school. He'd been to Taichi's a few times before though, and had met his three older brothers at least once on different occasions, but he'd never met a younger one or heard Taichi mention him before. Strange.

"Here," Ken shoved his controller into Daisuke's hands. "You play. Taichi, if it's OK, can I go get a drink from your kitchen?" He was a bit thirsty.

"Yeah, sure," Taichi replied, turning his attention back to the game as he started a match with Daisuke.

"Thanks." Ken started down the hall towards the kitchen. As he got closer, he could hear that someone was in there, probably making dinner, considering the time.

"Hey," he greeted, turning into the kitchen, before stopping abruptly from seeing someone he did not expect.

Yamato, with an oblong pan filled with cooked lasagne in his hands, turned at the greeting – and dropped the food in surprise at Ken standing there. It took him a second to realise what he had done, before bending down to pick up the ruined food.

By this time Ken had walked towards him with the intent to help, though there was nothing much to do; there wasn't nothing much Yamato could do, either. The pan had fallen face first with the lasagne touching the floor; there weren't pieces to be picked up as the food stayed whole, so Yamato only had to lift the pan upright, setting it on the table.

Ken noted that he seemed terribly upset, eyes staring at the ruined lasagne as if begging for it to be OK. He placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder, which seemed to bring the younger teen out of his thoughts.

"It's OK," Ken said gently. "I can help you make another one. I'm sorry I surprised you; you surprised me too."

Yamato shook his head, looking like he was on the verge of tears. Ken was feeling a little worried; the other boy seemed too upset over something as small as food falling to the ground.

"Hey, it's OK," Ken repeated, trying to comfort the blond.

Then everyone else – Hideki, Toru, Eito, Taichi and Daisuke – seemed to file into the kitchen, apparently having heard the pan crashing to the ground. Ken dropped his hand from Yamato's shoulder.

Surveying the scene, Hideki was the first to speak. "Taichi, why don't you let your friends out? I'm sure they'd want to go home for dinner with their families." It wasn't really a request.

"Yeah, OK," Taichi replied. "Come on guys."

There was tension in the room that Ken and Daisuke were both confused and uncomfortable about, so they weren't going to argue with going home. Daisuke however noticed two dog bowls on the floor, and made a passing comment, "Hey, I didn't know you guys had a pet."

". . . We don't," Taichi replied, as Toru and Eito stifled their laughter. Daisuke looked like he was going to ask why they had two dog bowls then, but didn't as Taichi gave him a look and ushered him out of the kitchen.

"I'll see you later, Yamato," Ken said quietly to the blond, before turning to follow Taichi and Daisuke out of the kitchen.

As soon as he had seen his friends out, Taichi returned back to the kitchen, so his brothers knew all was clear.

Again, Hideki spoke first, "What happened?"

"I . . . dropped dinner," Yamato answered in a small voice.

"Clearly," Hideki growled. "Why did you drop dinner?"

"Tai–Taichi's friend showed up, and . . . I was surprised. I'm sorry. I'll make another one –"

"No. It's dinner time. We're hungry  _now_."

". . . I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you are."

Hideki stepped forward, standing face to face with Yamato. They were the same height, and the tallest of the brothers, but the similarities ended there. Hideki was built like a truck; Yamato . . . not so much.

One punch and Yamato was on the ground. Unfortunately, it didn't stop there. Toru joined in as Eito and Taichi watched on; Eito with a smirk, Taichi with no expression, whilst thinking,  _he only ruined dinner_  . . .

They were done in a few short minutes. Yamato lay half curled up on the ground with blood trickling from his nose and mouth, and a gash on his forehead courtesy of Toru smashing his head into the edge of the table. Those were the visible damages; his clothes no doubt covered bruises all over his body.

"OK," Hideki began, turning to his standing brothers. "We're eating out. Go get your jackets or whatever." The other three disappeared.

Hideki turned back to Yamato and bent down, grabbing a fistful of his hair and yanking him up. Yamato hissed softly in pain and forced himself to stand up so that there would be less pressure at the roots of his hair. Hideki didn't let go, however.

"Clean the floor. And," Hideki pointed at the lasagne, "you better not eat that. Understood?"

"Yes," Yamato whispered. The sad thing was he was actually planning to consume it when his brothers had left; he figured he could scrape the top off and eat the rest, seeing as it was only the top that had hit the floor. But now . . .

The other three reappeared with their jackets on or in hand. Hideki let go of Yamato's hair. "OK, let's go."

When they had left, Yamato fell to the ground, crying quietly. "Stop it," he whispered to himself, as if saying it out loud would help. "Stop crying you weak piece of shit . . ."

After a few more moments he composed himself, and though he was aching badly from the beating he received moments before, he got up and picked up the lasagne and headed over to the trash can. He looked at it for a while, contemplating whether or not he should disobey Hideki and just have a little bit, before scraping it all into the bin in pieces. Well, that was it; no dinner two nights in a row.

_Why did I drop it . . . I knew Ken was Taichi's friend, so why did he surprise me? Stupid, stupid Yamato . . ._

He washed the dishes (from the morning; it was his duty every night after dinner to wash dishes) then cleaned the floor before finally going to his room to rest on his mattress. He felt so out of it, and soon, sleep consumed him.

* * *

Yamato was woken up unceremoniously by a hand lifting him up by his hair. Opening his eyes, he saw Hideki. Of course.

"Kitchen," Hideki said simply, letting go of Yamato and walking out of the room.

Yamato stumbled slowly out of the room and towards the kitchen. He wondered whether his brothers had taken pity on him and brought some of the food back home for him, but only for a split second, as that was extremely unlikely and the thought only got his hopes up; it was always tough when they came crashing back down – hard.

Reaching the kitchen, he saw that all four of his brothers were there, and he immediately noticed that there was no food out or anything. Crash.

"Kneel there," Hideki indicated where the lasagne had fallen. Confused, Yamato did as told. Hideki smirked. "I told you not to eat the lasagne."

"I-I didn't. I threw it all in the bin," Yamato replied.

"How can we be sure?" Hideki asked with an evil grin. Yamato's brow creased slightly. Hideki went on. "I'll tell you how – vomit up your food."

"W-what?" Yamato asked, perplexed. "H-how?"

"Don't be an idiot," Hideki retorted, then spoke as if speaking to a first-grader. "Stick two fingers down your throat and regurgitate."

Yamato continued to look at him with a confused, pleading expression. "B-but . . . I promise, I didn't eat the lasagne . . . you told me not to, and I wouldn't disobey you . . ."

"You're disobeying me right now," Hideki replied coldly. "And unless you want another beating, you're going to stick two fucking fingers down your goddamn throat."

Yamato paused a second before lifting two of his fingers to his mouth. His brothers laughed and he closed his eyes in shame as he forced his fingers down his throat. After a while, he could feel the urge to vomit, as Hideki then forcefully shoved his fingers harder down his throat, making him gag.

After a few minutes, Hideki seemed to be satisfied. Yamato had vomit on his chin, trailing down his hand, and in a small puddle on the floor. There were a few bits of visible corn, but not much else; it showed how little he had eaten in a while.

"OK, you were telling the truth," Hideki nodded in sarcastic approval. Yamato looked a bit ill from vomiting; his stomach and throat had gone through quite a bit. "You can clean your mess up now." Yamato staggered to his feet. "Wait. What are you doing?"

"Getting some cleaning supplies," Yamato croaked weakly.

"You can do that after you consume your mess."

Yamato blinked repeatedly in confusion as Toru and Eito smirked at each other. Taichi seemed to frown a little.

"Well, go on," Hideki said impatiently. "Consume."

"B-but –"

"But what? It's  _your_  mess that  _you_  made so it's only fair, right?" Three of the brothers sniggered.

Yamato looked at his vomit on the floor before looking back at Hideki with another pleading look. "Please, Hideki . . ."

"You know, I'm getting tired of all your prolonging speeches. You either do what I tell you to do immediately or you'll regret it." Hideki's voice was acid this time.

Slowly, Yamato kneeled back down before his vomit. The brothers looked on, three with expressions of amusement, one looking mildly disturbed. Yamato lowered his face to the floor and flicked his tongue out, licking up the bits of corn and other unknown remnants, mainly the watery essence of his vomit.

As he heard his brothers laugh, he tried to get his mind off the taste, off what he was doing, but couldn't stop the tears that fell. Soon his brothers noticed he was crying, and only laughed harder. When he had finished, he looked up and saw that Taichi was missing.

"Clean it up properly now," Hideki said, meaning with proper cleaning supplies. Turning out of the kitchen with Toru and Eito in tow, he let out a sarcastic, "Good night."

* * *

Taichi lay awake in bed; his mind kept thinking about his recent negative – no,  _semi_ -negative, he corrected – feelings in regards to how Yamato was treated. The thing was, he  _shouldn't_  be having semi-negative feelings; Yamato  _killed_  his mother, for gods sake. And yet . . .

Taichi sighed, turning his head to gaze at his brother's form on the mattress below across the room. The blond was sleeping on his stomach again, his head turned away from Taichi's direction. He still had on his school uniform; Yamato was supposed to use as little clothing as possible, to reduce the load of laundry, so he stayed in one outfit all day. Heck, during the weekend, he stayed in the clothes he wore on Friday, and didn't even bathe then apart from brushing his teeth, to save water.

Hideki had set a 'limit' on the amount of money their monthly water bill could be; if it reached or surpassed that limit, Yamato would get a major beating complete with brutal rape. Thus why Yamato only bathed on weekdays, when it was necessary; though he also knew that Toru or Eito ran the taps sometimes, took longer showers, and the like, just to see whether they'd surpass the limit or not and get Yamato into trouble. It worked, often.

Sometimes Taichi felt sorry for him. He admitted that. But he told himself he was only human so feeling sorry for Yamato didn't mean much of anything; he still  _hated_  Yamato for what he did to their family.

But he remembered when things weren't so bad. Being four, five, six . . . back then, things weren't quite as extreme. Sure, Yamato got hit a lot by their father, but it was easier to accept that Yamato had indeed been 'bad' and deserved a punishment. Having three older brothers, Taichi had liked having a younger brother to push around; he had dragged Yamato with him everywhere, when he could.

He remembered having  _fun_  with Yamato, and Yamato having fun with  _him_. If he tried, he could picture Yamato laughing at four when he had accidentally broken Taichi's model aeroplane and found Taichi's anger to be hilarious; giggling at five as they played tag at the park; smiling at six when Taichi tried to teach him how to play soccer . . .

It seemed things got worse when Yamato was seven. The brothers all agreed that their father had probably started to sexually abuse him at that time; Taichi remembered Yamato not wanting to play with him anymore, withdrawing into himself . . . that's when Taichi had first started to hate Yamato.

Taichi gave a soft dry chuckle. He loved attention so when Yamato wasn't giving him any he started to resent him. The lines blurred and hatred evolved; he was just a kid, and his authority figures – his father and elder brothers – were acting as if it were OK to hurt Yamato, so in time, he had accepted that it  _was_  OK. Apparently, Yamato had too.

Taichi could see Yamato trembling slightly; it was rather cold, and all the blond had were his clothes to keep him warm. He continued watching as Yamato subconsciously clutched his 'pillow' tighter; it was a stuffed animal Taichi had given to him for his fifth birthday. Well, actually, Taichi had picked it out for his own sixth birthday but had then given it to Yamato as a belated present, seeing as the younger hadn't been given anything for his birthday the previous month.

There was a time period of about a month where Taichi and Yamato were the same age; currently, both of them were sixteen years old. Yamato had turned that age a couple of weeks ago, and in another couple of weeks, Taichi would be turning seventeen.

Taichi expected a birthday bash, of course. Yamato had gotten a birthday bash, but in a different context. The three elder Yagamis had given him a beating for being born into existence on that day, just like they did every year.

Feeling a greater sense of pity than he usually did, Taichi got up from beneath his covers and out of bed, crouching down before Yamato's sleeping form. He gently rolled him over so that he was facing him, and proceeded to lift him up and into his bed. Yamato must've been really tired, Taichi noted, as being carried hadn't even woken him up. He got back into bed next to the blond, pulling the covers over them both.

At the moment, the two were facing each other, though whereas Taichi was wide awake, Yamato was sound asleep. Taichi traced Yamato's features with his eyes; he'd have looked really angelic if not for the damages Hideki and Toru had inflicted upon him earlier. Still, his face was more content than Taichi had ever seen in a long time when he was awake.

Suddenly, Yamato turned the other way, his back now facing Taichi. The brunet frowned slightly, disappointed that he could no longer stare at the blond's face – then wondered why the hell he was. Taichi closed his eyes and scolded himself, before re-opening them and staring at Yamato's back. Well, it was the only thing in his line of vision . . . unless he looked down.

Yamato was actually sleeping on his side, partially curled, so his arse was protruding outward . . . towards Taichi. The brunet's eyes kept glancing between the curve of Yamato's arse and his more innocent back. Eventually, though, Taichi's eyes were focussed solely downwards.

 _What the fuck, Taichi?_  he berated himself.  _You are not gay. You are not gay. You are not gay._  Somehow, he forced himself to think that this was an urge that Hideki, Toru and Eito – all straight – got. An urge to hurt, humiliate, rape. Yeah, that was it. This was it.

His eyes and mind roamed more freely now without restraint; he thought about what it'd feel like to spread those perfectly sculpted arse cheeks apart and shove his cock in real hard – through his pants – that Yamato would scream in pleasure –

No, pain. Pain. Of course pain. It was rape; he would cause Yamato pain, not pleasure. He  _wanted_  to cause him pain, not pleasure. Pain. Of course. Not pleasure.

Taichi found himself reaching out and placing a hand in the middle of Yamato's arse, where his fingertips splayed across both arse cheeks. As if moving on its own accord, his hand started to gently rub the surrounding area, before his middle finger curved into the crevice of Yamato's arse and he felt the gentle muscle of his anus.

If he wanted to, he could fuck him. He  _could_. He didn't need his permission; he could wake Yamato up right now and demand that the other boy take it up the arse right then and there, and Yamato would have obeyed. He wouldn't object. He wasn't allowed to. Taichi could fuck him freely. With that thought in mind, Taichi began circling his middle finger in small ministrations around Yamato's anus.

Yamato stirred a bit then, murmuring softly, "Daddy . . . please don't . . ."

Taichi withdrew his hand suddenly.

Yamato had slept with their father in his room often; Taichi could only assume that his massaging of his arse, plus the comfort of a bed he hadn't been used to since their father's death, had made Yamato's subconsciousness think about the times their father had raped him.

Taichi didn't  _want_  to be their father . . .

He didn't  _want_  to be mistaken for their father . . .

He  _wanted_  to be Taichi, and he  _wanted_  for Yamato to  _want_  him to be Taichi, because he  _wanted_  . . .

He  _wanted_  . . .

Yamato.

_Oh shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a review if you'd like me to update faster than six months (chances are it'll be even longer) - there are quite a few alerts, and I'd love to hear from you (even if you log out and leave an anonymous review). :P
> 
> Disclaimer: A few ideas were taken from the book A Child Called 'It' by Dave Pelzer. I've only read the first chapter (if that) before being too disturbed to continue; largely because it was a true recount of child abuse. I'm OK with it in fiction because, well, it's fiction. Ideas that were used: eating from dog bowls, eating vomit . . . I guess you could say the fact that one child was targeted for abuse kind of 'inspired' this story. Anyhow, if you can stomach it, I do recommend the book . . . though I got too sad to continue myself. :p


	3. Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, four weeks and an update! Because you guys are so freakin' awesome with your reviews. Thank you! Especially those who comment on the story and/or my actual writing. :)
> 
> I made this 'profile' of the brothers Yagami - with Taichi and Yamato included, of course. It has their 'photo' (I admit to stealing random models off the interweb!) and a blurb on their character. You'll gain more insight into the original characters than throughout the story, I think, because they're secondary characters - and though I will try to flesh them out, the profiles are there if I don't manage to. :P You can see it at this URL: cutt.ly/xy
> 
> You can pretend the guys pictured are authentically them! I do. XD Except for Taichi and Yamato – I just chose their photos for their hair colour and physique. Doing the profiles actually helped me flesh out the brothers better in my mind – now to transfer some of that into future chapters . . .

Yamato instinctively woke up around 5 a.m. every day to make breakfast for his brothers, ready to be served to them by the time they woke up an hour later; he'd been doing it for years, and the habit was ingrained in his subconscious over time. Today was no different.

Despite being totally wiped out the previous night from getting beaten and being made to vomit, Yamato's eyes did not fail to open an hour before dawn. He blinked a few times in the semi-darkness, before bringing his hand up to routinely rub his eyes from morning sleep. Then he made to get up – and realised he didn't feel the usual combination of a hard floor beneath him, thinly veiled under a tatty mattress. Instead, he felt the comfort of soft fabric. Did he fall asleep on the living room couch?

He turned slightly and looked over his shoulder – and saw the sleeping form of his brother. No to the couch, then.

_What am I doing in Taichi's bed! If he wakes up, he's gonna kill me . . ._

Yamato froze and thought about how he was going to get out of Taichi's bed without waking him up. If only he were on the opposite side, away from the wall, then he'd be able to get out easily – wait a minute. Yamato's features contorted in confusion; if he was on the side closest to the wall, then that must mean he either got in before Taichi, or Taichi had placed him there – either way . . .

Taichi must've known.

Still confused, Yamato felt a bit better about attempting to get out, though he still didn't want to wake Taichi up, for two reasons; one, it was 5 a.m. and Taichi wouldn't appreciate it, and two, he'd rather not have a confrontation with Taichi about the fact that he'd let him sleep in his bed, since awkward things like that usually led Taichi to do something mean to him later on to 'prove' that he hadn't meant a nice intent.

So with his eyes on Taichi the whole time, Yamato began to slowly and carefully slide downwards off the bed – because he sure as hell wasn't climbing over Taichi to get out. All in all, it took a full minute for his feet to reach the floor at the end of the bed, something that would otherwise have taken two seconds.

Sighing softly in relief to himself, Yamato quietly walked towards the door and creaked it open slowly before disappearing through it and closing it behind him.

Inside the room, Taichi's eyes opened.

* * *

Taichi sat picking at his food at the kitchen table as the three elder Yagamis sat on the other three sides eating the scrambled eggs Yamato had made. The blond himself was stood quietly to the side, staring at a patch on the floor, trying to ignore the alluring scent of food as best he could.

"OK, done?" Hideki asked, his eyes going around the table at his brothers.

Toru burped, receiving a playful punch in the arm by Eito. "Yeah, I am." The remaining two nodded as well.

Hideki stood up. "All right, let's go." Toru and Eito followed Hideki's example, but Taichi stayed put. Hideki raised an eyebrow. "Taichi?"

"I think I'll walk to school today, so you guys can go without me," Taichi shrugged nonchalantly, trying to make it seem as though it wasn't a big deal. If Hideki was still there and hadn't left for work early, they usually all jumped on the idea of going by car.

"But, I'm driving . . . so you might as well come with," Hideki replied, eyebrow still raised.

"Yeah, but, soccer, you know," Taichi let out a lie. "Walking to school every now and then will keep me fit for it."

Eito sniggered, "I can't believe you still play that wimpy arse sport." Toru high-fived him, and Taichi shot them both a dirty look, but they merely grinned back at him.

". . . Well, OK. Make sure you don't get there late, though," Hideki relented.

Taichi rolled his eyes. "I won't."

Hideki nodded and walked out of the kitchen with Toru in tow. Eito glanced at Yamato, who was still looking at the floor, then gave Taichi a questioning look, which went ignored. Eito's curiosity was peaked further, unsure of whether Taichi was up to something or not, but as the two elder Yagamis were waiting for him, he said a quick good-bye and left the kitchen, but not before giving Taichi a narrowed look.

A short while later the front door was heard opening and closing, signally their departure. Taichi looked at Yamato, whose eyes were now off the floor and on the remaining food at the table, which wasn't much save for Taichi's plate. When Yamato saw that he'd been caught eyeing the food by Taichi, he blushed a little and lowered his eyes back to the floor.

"Take a seat," Taichi gestured at a seat on a side of the table adjacent to his. Yamato looked at Taichi, surprised; he hadn't been allowed to sit at the kitchen table since their father died. Taichi sighed impatiently. "Are you going to do what I tell you to do, or what?" Yamato promptly took a seat, though with uncertainty in his face.

Taichi pushed his plate in front of Yamato. "Eat." Still cautious, Yamato slowly went to pick up the remains of Taichi's eggs with his fingers, only to have Taichi knock his hand down. "No, use utensils."

This time Yamato didn't do immediately as told; Taichi was just acting too bizarre. Certainly, out of his brothers Taichi was by far the 'nicest' to him, but that had always been little things. Like instead of being  _active_  in most of the beatings and rapes, he'd be  _passive_ , doing nothing or leaving the room entirely. And, as a whole, he also never gave Yamato the vibe that he well and truly hated him like the other three - especially Hideki and Toru – did.

But two nights ago Taichi had caught Yamato  _disobeying_  the brothers; true, they never explicitly told Yamato he  _couldn't_  turn the vibrator off, but that was sure as hell implied – and yet, Taichi had made up an excuse for him and had not told the others about the incident at all. Then last night Taichi had obviously let Yamato sleep in his bed with him, and it was highly likely the brunet had put the blond there himself, seeing as Yamato couldn't remember falling asleep on Taichi's bed, or fathom how or why he would, as he wasn't allowed to and would not blatantly break a rule.

Now Taichi had offered him a  _seat_  at the kitchen table to eat off of  _plates_  with the use of  _utensils_  – something Yamato hadn't been allowed to do since their father died almost five years ago. Taichi was being odd indeed.

Yamato looked at Taichi with deeply curious eyes. Taichi shifted; he didn't like it, he felt uneasy under the blond's gaze, as though the other boy could read his mind and knew his innermost thoughts like his attraction to –

No. There was no attraction. Deny, deny, deny.

Taichi got up from his chair hastily, barking out, "Hurry up and eat, then shower fast. You better not make me late for school." Except, of course, Taichi could walk to school by himself if he wanted to; he really didn't need to wait for Yamato.

They both knew this.

* * *

"What do you want?" Taichi gestured at an array of food.

They were at the front of a store close by the school that he had veered Yamato inside. Actually, they'd had to walk back a few paces, as Taichi had been contemplating during their entire walk to school, whether or not to go inside to buy Yamato some food. He had eventually decided against it – before changing his mind again at the last minute. After all, he reasoned, Yamato had gone without dinner for two nights, and had only had a paltry amount of food at breakfast and lunch – if he'd even had any lunch, as Taichi was clueless.

Despite their mistreatment of Yamato, they still had to convey to the world that he was fine; that everything at home was fine. When their father had died, and Hideki was granted title of guardian, there were a lot of regular visits from social workers in the first year to see that things were going smoothly. For some reason, Yamato kept up the charade that he was fine, and never told anyone about how he was really treated.

That had dumbfounded the brothers, as they were sure he'd rat on them; Hideki and Toru repeatedly threatened him if he told, since their tactic was to scare him into not telling. Still, they all knew that all Yamato had to do was tell one of the social workers, and he'd have been whisked away to safety. Taichi had always thought that was incredibly absurd – and stupid – of Yamato not to say anything, and even now still wondered what the other boy was thinking at the time.

One of their top priorities was to make sure Yamato  _looked_  healthy enough to the world. That meant they had to give him sufficient enough food to maintain the image of a reasonably normal-looking teenage boy; having him stick-thin from starvation would have the authorities looking into them. They didn't want that, thus why Hideki gave Yamato a weekly food allowance; if they didn't have to worry about the authorities, Hideki would have given him nothing.

Of course, Yamato didn't know that his brothers made sure he got enough food in his system; they liked to make him suffer and so would regularly make him go without food for a few – or several – days before eventually letting him have some food again. Still, they gave him the minimum amount of food that he required.

Taichi knew that Hideki would soon let Yamato eat a proper dinner, to balance out the last few nights without, but surely a few extras wouldn't hurt. Besides, if Yamato ate more food now, Hideki would surely see the effects of it and limit Yamato's intake later on, so it was all balanced out in the end anyway. Right?

Taichi nodded his head, satisfied with his own reasoning, then looked at Yamato. "Well? What do you want? Hurry up, you're gonna make me late for school." He still felt the need to use bravado, it seems.

At that prompt, Yamato's unsure eyes scanned the food in front of him, and eventually he pointed at some sweet buns. Taichi opened his mouth to tell the lady behind the counter, but then realised Yamato had picked the cheapest thing there, so he decided to add a few more on his behalf. "He'll have a sweet bun, a croissant, a chicken salad sandwich, and a cheese and ham sandwich, please." He'd have added more, but he didn't want to go overboard.

Yamato's eyebrows rose in panic – he didn't have enough money for all that. As the lady began packing the food into a paper bag, he took out his remaining money for the week and reached it out towards Taichi. "I'm sorry . . . I only have 200 yen. I'll give you more money next week when I get it." That would mean his entire allowance both next week and the week after.

Taichi looked at the pitiful coins in Yamato's hand with a slightly raised eyebrow before pushing said hand away. "No. I'm paying. You can keep that." Yamato's face once again held a look of confusion, and Taichi turned away. Yamato's reactions were making it harder for Taichi to pretend that he wasn't doing something out of the ordinary.

_You're not_ , Taichi told himself.  _You're just giving him some food so he doesn't look like a skeleton and people won't think he's being neglected and abused._

Taichi paid for the food, then handed it to Yamato and quickly stalked out of the store, as if to get away from the gesture. Yamato quickly stuffed the paper bag of food into his tatty school bag and followed his brother out of the store.

"Th-thanks . . ." Yamato sputtered, once he caught up with the brunet. Taichi ignored him, but slowed down his pace so that Yamato didn't have to take such long quick strides to stay beside him, seeing as his body probably ached from the beating he received the night before. Actually, he really should be resting at home . . . but well, that was never going to happen, not with Hideki in charge.

Taichi took a sideways glance at Yamato, who was luckily staring down at the pavement as they walked. His bangs fortunately covered the gash on his forehead, but the side of his lips were still a bit cut and broken, and he had light bruises along his jaw line and cheek. It wasn't that bad, but it would still get some questioning looks. Taichi just hoped Yamato wasn't stupid enough to tell the truth if asked – for the blond's own sake.

In a short while they reached the school, finding Ken and Daisuke waiting around at the front gate. Taichi's eyebrows rose in surprise as they neared them, before greeting his friends. "Hey, shouldn't you guys be playing soccer or something?" He'd never seen Ken or Daisuke hang out the front in the mornings before.

Daisuke shrugged at Taichi. "Ken was hanging around when I got here. Then he made me stay." He waited for Ken to retort that he hadn't made him stay, but that he voluntarily did so himself to annoy.

But Ken was gazing intently at Yamato. "What happened to your face?" Last evening was still fresh in his mind, with Yamato freaking out over dropped lasagne, and the tension felt in the room that he and Daisuke had shortly thereafter left. But surely Yamato hadn't been  _hit_  for dropping dinner last night . . .

"Um . . ." Yamato started, glancing uncertainly at Taichi, who offered no help – mainly because the brunet couldn't think of an excuse. He swallowed. "After dinner last night we – me and my brothers – we . . . fooled around. Roughhousing. And I fell . . . hitting my face on the table before landing on the floor – on my face."

Taichi thought that was actually pretty good. They were guys, and they roughhoused. There was nothing wrong with that. He was just worried that Yamato's delivery of the lie would give him away . . .

"Oh," Ken said, accepting the lie, more than glad that he could wipe away the thought that Yamato had been hit because of something stupid. Of course he hadn't, that would be absurd. He couldn't believe he even thought that was a possibility. "I see. Are you OK, though?" Yamato nodded with a small smile, appreciating the other boy's concern.

"Ouch," Daisuke remarked, rubbing his own face for emphasis. "I bet it was Taichi's fault, huh? He's so clumsy." Taichi gave him a dirty look.

Ken decided to change the subject, picking up on what Yamato had just said. "So, you're brothers?" Daisuke shot him a look, as he had told Ken they were when they left the Yagamis' apartment yesterday, but Ken promptly ignored him. It was better to question the source.

" _Half-_ brothers," Taichi answered. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yamato's expression dampen slightly. Well, he guessed that could have hurt him, but he rather liked that they were  _only_  half-brothers. That would mean if something were to happen it would only be  _half_ incestuous –

Wait. Wait, wait, wait. It wasn't going to be  _anything_  incestuous because nothing was going to happen. He didn't  _want_  anything to happen. Taichi mentally slapped himself upside the head.

Ken missed Yamato's hurt look and nodded his head as if Taichi had just been factual; which, well, he had. "Same mother, father?" he asked. Daisuke had just said 'yeah' when he had asked if Yamato was Taichi's brother, so this half-sibling information was new to him.

"Father," Taichi replied.

Daisuke had known however, and he threw a teasing grin at Yamato. "That means he's packing something huge too." It was well-known in the soccer team that Taichi had a sizeable penis since they all changed in the locker rooms together.

Frankly, Ken was surprised Daisuke had half a brain to decode that having the same father meant that their Y chromosomes – more specifically their SRY gene that encoded their TDF – came from the same source and thus would produce identical copies of male genitalia. Of course, Ken conceded, it was far more likely that Daisuke's reasoning had been less advanced, and he had just assumed that 'you got what your dad gave you' – which was a simpler way of putting it, but it was true, so Ken couldn't argue with that.

Oh, and the apparent fact that Yamato had a large member didn't deter Ken's attraction, either. Nope, not one bit.

The blond blushed a deep shade of red and Taichi gave Daisuke the finger. He  _really_  didn't need to be thinking of Yamato's penis – and that went for himself and anyone else.

"What?" Daisuke exclaimed, throwing his hands into the air.

Taichi paused before replying. "You sound like a fag, that's what." He really was just feeling possessive – for some reason. He shook the feeling off.

Ken had been looking from Yamato to Taichi in the meantime. "You two don't look alike. Actually, Yamato doesn't look like any of you." Taichi shrugged noncommittally, because he'd heard it before a few hundred times. Ken continued. "So, Yamato's younger, right? Just checking, because he's taller than you." He knew Yamato was a first-year and thus younger than Taichi, but he wanted to tease him.

Taichi gave him a light glare. It wasn't really an issue anymore, but it still irritated him sometimes. Yamato had surpassed him in height when they were twelve and thirteen, respectively – though the gap in height had been wider to start off with, slowly decreasing over the years as Taichi himself grew, until Yamato was only two inches taller.

But when it had first occurred, Taichi hadn't been a happy boy. He whined and moaned about his little brother being taller than him, which the elder Yagamis all found amusing, so after a while Toru suggested playfully to 'remedy' the situation – he had taken a hammer and smashed it into Yamato's ankle.

Taichi remembered a  _lot_  of scary half-screams half-sobs emitting from the blond. Hideki had taken Yamato to the hospital where he stayed for about a week. As soon as Hideki had brought him home, the elder Yagamis had beaten him up for the extensive hospital bill – apparently it had been Yamato's fault he had to go to the hospital, and not Toru's.

Taichi had felt  _so_  bad.

"Of course he's younger," Taichi snapped, just as the school bell rang. He looked at Ken then at Yamato. "Besides, he's taller than you too." He was indeed, but only by an inch.

"Yeah," Ken agreed with a smirk, "but I'm not his  _big_  brother." Thank god – he wouldn't be able to date him otherwise.

"Whilst I'd like to join in on the battle of the heights –  _not_  – I think we should get to class," Daisuke interrupted. He was of average height and by far the shortest of the four standing there; about five inches shorter than Yamato.

Yamato shifted awkwardly on his feet. He was feeling a bit weird in the circle, standing there and being acknowledged and included in the little 'chat' with Taichi and his friends. It was so strange to him because he'd never experienced it before, where people talking to him didn't look at him like he was an outcast, and though he liked it, it was still extremely new and uncomfortable for him so he made to get away.

"First-year classrooms are in the opposite direction to second-year classrooms, so . . . I'll – good-bye, Taichi, Ken, Daisuke," he said hesitantly, giving them a small wave and moving away from them uncertainly in case he'd gone without their permission and would be punished. But Ken and Daisuke said 'bye' to him in return with no malice, and they watched him disappear inside a building block.

"He's kind of weird," Daisuke remarked, as the three of them moved past the school gates and towards their own classrooms. "Like, formal, sort of . . . except . . . well, weird."

"I like him," Ken said, though he meant it in more ways than one.

"I didn't say I  _didn't_  like him," Daisuke retorted. "I just said he was weird. He is. I rarely see him when I go over, he's always in his room or something. Being weird. And Taichi's not even protesting and he's his brother."

Ken pondered that, as it was similar to his own experience. Daisuke was closer to Taichi than he was, so he'd been over his apartment more times. The fact that even he found Yamato weird was strange . . . though perhaps he was reading too much into it? After all, they  _were_  Taichi's friends, not Yamato's. It would be normal for the blond to not come outside and greet them.

"Protesting?" Taichi queried, sniggering. "Big word, Daisuke."

"Shut up."

* * *

Yamato was sat at his desk in his classroom at recess, since Eito had been annoyed at him yesterday for not being where he should be – he didn't want to be punished for it again. Thankfully, the girls in his class had figured out that he didn't really like their company as he was pretty unresponsive when they spoke to him, so they left him alone and only occasionally stole glances at him – though today, those glances weren't just of admiration, but of curiosity of the bruises on his face.

Yamato ignored their glances and bit into the chicken salad sandwich Taichi had bought him that morning; he was  _very_  grateful, and though he knew Taichi was being weird, he wasn't complaining. He dug in and managed to eat half of it before Eito showed up – not going unnoticed by a lot of students in the classroom. There had been an assembly yesterday for the first day of school, and Eito had been introduced as the president of the student body council – plus he was captain of the baseball and football teams – so he was popular indeed.

A lot of the students were looking confused as Eito strode over to Yamato's desk – one of the most popular upperclassmen in the school was approaching a meek-mannered underclassmen? It was strange. But then some students realised that they had the same last name, and connected the dots; the confused looks turned to surprise.

Eito looked down at Yamato from his standing position, and lifted a curious eyebrow at the sandwich in his hands. He was a little surprised as sandwiches tended to be overpriced and he didn't think Yamato would buy one, but then shrugged it off as he figured the blond must be starving and desperate for good food or something. Anyhow, it required little thought over.

Yamato placed his half-eaten sandwich back into its plastic compartment and waited for Eito to talk; it was never good when his older brother showed up, but maybe this once . . .

"Follow," was Eito's simple instruction, before he turned and started walking out of the classroom.

Yamato's heart fell as he got up quickly to do as told. They walked for several minutes in silence before they reached their destination. Eito had led him inside a vacant toilet block, save for a third-year boy who Yamato was unfortunately very familiar with.

The other boy was short in stature and, unless he miraculously grew since the last time Yamato had seen him a few months ago, had a rather unimpressive three-and-a-half inch cock. But his arms were thick and defined, so he obviously tried to make up for his shortcomings.

"He wanted you yesterday," Eito spoke up, giving Yamato the reason as to why he was needed at lunch the previous day.

"I'm sorry, Ryu," Yamato said automatically to the black-haired teenager.

"You should be," Ryu grumbled in a deep voice. "It was your first day of high school and I wanted to make it  _special_  for you." He and Eito exchanged chuckles, whilst Yamato thought having a pin dick up his arse wasn't exactly special, but he dared not say that out loud.

"Recess will be over soon," Eito said, holding his right hand out towards Ryu. The other boy dug into his pockets and placed four coins into Eito's open hand. He looked at them before scoffing, "Ryu, 310 yen? The normal rate is 10,000 yen for a blow job, 50,000 yen for a fuck. But, since you're a friend, I give you a special discounted rate of 1,000 yen for  _anything goes_ , and you offer me  _310 yen_?"

"That's all I have, man!" Ryu exclaimed. "I blew through all my cash for new clothes and shit. Come on, we've been friends for ages. You can't let me fuck him this once for 310 yen?"

Eito speculated that it was roughly the cost of the sandwich Yamato had been eating. He looked at the blond who was unsurprisingly looking down at the ground. He knew his younger brother was probably feeling embarrassed and ashamed from being discussed as a sex toy to be rented out, and for such little cash no less. His lips curved into a smirk. "OK, but just this once."

"Thanks man," Ryu clapped him on the back.

Eito sniggered at the pitiful amount of money in his hand before shoving the coins into Yamato's pants pocket. "Here, you can have it. Buy yourself another sandwich." His tone was sarcastic and mocking.

Though it made Yamato ashamed that he was accepting 'rent' money – his own, no less – he still wanted it. "Thank you," he said quietly, with sincerity. Even though Eito hadn't intended it as a nice gesture – like perhaps Taichi had in the morning – Yamato was still very grateful for the money.

Eito just wore a smirk on his face and turned to go – before Ryu spoke up and stopped him.

"Hey wait man, can you lend me some lube?"

Eito turned back around, lifting a bemused eyebrow. "No. Can't you come prepared?" Then he frowned. "But you better have a condom." He wasn't going to let the idiot potentially transfer STDs to his younger brother – after all, he fucked him too. He needed him clean.

"Yeah, of course man, I have a condom," Ryu reassured him. "It's just lube that I don't have."

Eito shrugged. "Use spit. And be quick, 'cause you only have about ten minutes before recess ends." He smirked. "But I guess even two minutes would be sufficient enough time for you."

"Ha ha," Ryu said sarcastically, as Eito gave him a playful wave and walked out of the toilet block, closing the door shut behind him. Ryu turned to Yamato. "OK, get in there." He shoved the blond into a toilet cubicle and locked the door behind them, just as an extra precaution in case someone came into the toilet block.

"Get into position, baby," Ryu grinned widely. Alas, this wasn't the first time Ryu had raped Yamato in a toilet cubicle – he'd done it numerous times when he was a third-year in junior high and the blond was a first-year.

Yamato dutifully pulled his school pants down to his knees, spread his legs apart so they were on either side of the toilet bowel, and leaned over with his hands flat on the wall in front of him.

"Hideki still doesn't waste underwear on you I see," Ryu remarked, running his hand over Yamato's buttocks, before spreading his arse cheeks apart and spitting a string of saliva onto his exposed anus. He then sucked on two of his fingers, covering them in saliva, before sticking them into Yamato, right up to the knuckle. The blond squirmed a little, but not much. "Good boy."

Ryu retracted his fingers then reached into his pocket for his condom. As he ripped the packet open, his eyes wandered over Yamato's lower body for visual stimuli to gain an erection. His eyes caught sight of the blond's penis, very visibly hanging down between his thighs. A feeling of insecurity set in, as it sometimes did when he fucked the boy – the younger's cock was twice the size of his own cock. He decided he wasn't going to use his penis this time. The blond probably thought lowly of him because of his size – well, let's see what he thought of this. He sniggered.

"Say Yamato, have you ever been fisted?"

* * *

It was lunch and Yamato was sat quite still at his desk. After Ryu had his way with him he had folded up some tissue paper and placed it between his arse cheeks, using his arse muscles to clench it in place, as he had no underwear to do the job. His anus had bled just two days before, and a little more yesterday, thus it was vulnerable to more bleeding if provoked – and provoked it had been. Of course, his arse was hurting him quite a bit.

Now he was attempting to finish off his sandwich from recess, and would hopefully get to eat the other food Taichi had bought him that morning, without being disturbed. A few minutes in, and no such luck – a familiar figure made his way towards him, but this time, Yamato didn't mind.

Ken grabbed an empty chair and sat down opposite from Yamato so that they were facing each other. He smiled. "Mind if I join you?"

Yamato shook his head gently with a smile of his own. "No, of course not."

"Thanks," Ken grinned. "I wanted to find you at recess but I forgot to ask you what class you were in. Then of course after recess was over I figured that I could just go to the first-year classrooms, stick my head in, and look for you. And thus, here I am!"

Yamato looked a bit surprised that Ken would go out of his way just to find him. "You . . . you didn't have to waste your time –"

"Hey, I found you, it wasn't a waste," Ken cut in with a smile. "Besides, there's only six classes. It didn't take me long."

"No, I mean . . ." Yamato trailed. He didn't think he was worth finding. "You'd probably rather be playing soccer with Taichi . . ."

"If that were the case, I'd be on the soccer field instead of here, no?" Ken asked, amused. Yamato blushed faintly and lowered his head in shyness. Ken changed the subject. "So, 1-A, huh? You must be pretty smart; certainly smarter than Taichi."

Yamato looked up, looking both cautiously flattered and mildly defensive. "Taichi's – he's . . . he's OK." He wanted to defend his brother without offending Ken.

Taichi was in class 2-C, so he was pretty average in regards to academic intellect; Hideki often made Yamato abandon his own homework to help Taichi with his. But it was really only maths that his older brother needed help with – Taichi sucked at it, whilst Yamato excelled. And, honestly, he didn't really mind helping him; at least during those sessions, he had the chance to exchange sentences with someone without any fear, even if it only involved numbers and solutions. Being ignored for most of his life, except for taunts and insults, had made him lonely.

"Yeah, he is," Ken agreed with a smile, telling Yamato that he had been joking. "But you've done excellent to be placed in 1-A. You should be proud of yourself."

Yamato blushed. "I just pay attention in class . . ." And he did. Because his life at home was so dysfunctional, he would focus on his schoolwork when he could, to keep his mind off things he'd rather forget about. His studies were what little stability he could cling to.

"And you got rewarded. I'm in 2-A myself, so you'll be learning everything I did last year at the same pace. If you need any help at all, just ask, OK?" Ken certainly wanted him to ask.

Yamato nodded with a small smile. Much like yesterday afternoon, he wasn't as communicative as Ken was, so the older boy found himself carrying the conversation most of the time.

"So, Taichi's birthday is coming up, huh?" Ken asked, and Yamato nodded. "When's  _your_  birthday?" He certainly wouldn't mind getting him a gift if it was close.

"Two weeks ago . . ."

"Oh, happy belated birthday!" Ken exclaimed.

"Thanks . . ." Yamato smiled. His brothers hadn't bothered to say it to him on his birthday.

"You had a cake, right?"

Actually, he hadn't – unless he counted the one he drew in the sand. His brothers had taken him to the beach that day, making it seem as though they were there to celebrate his birthday – but they weren't. As soon as they got there, Hideki had told him to sit down on the edge of the beach and not to move. So while his older brothers threw a football around at a distance, pointedly excluding him, Yamato had sat alone for hours.

He outlined a simple cake in the sand, complete with the number '16' on top of it, and made a wish – then blew his sand-drawn cake and '16' candle away. Unfortunately, his wish didn't come true that day, as when it was getting late and the beach was vacant except for the brothers, they had beaten him up.

But Yamato found himself nodding, not wanting to reveal to Ken the truth. "Yes."

"What type was it?"

". . . Yellow." The colour of the sand. But he didn't like lying about something like this, so he turned the topic away from himself. "Are you coming to Taichi's birthday party?"

Well speak of the devil.

Taichi casually walked into the room, catching both the eyes of Yamato and Ken. He grabbed an empty chair and sat down at Yamato's desk, giving Ken a look of surprise. "Hey man, I wondered where you were. What are you doing here?"

"I was just talking to your brother," Ken answered, rather calmly for someone who was afraid to be caught out about having an attraction to a friend's younger brother. "He told me he hadn't made any new friends yet, and as he's your brother, I kind of feel obligated to be a friend to him, you know?"

Yamato's mind lingered at the word 'obligated'. He hoped that wasn't true. Ken had befriended him  _before_  knowing he was Taichi's brother, so he had to be lying, right? But why would he lie . . .? He couldn't help feeling a little sad.

"That's very sweet of you, Ken," Taichi replied sarcastically.

"What are  _you_  doing here?" Ken retorted.

Taichi huffed, "He's my  _brother_. I don't need a reason." Actually, coming to Yamato's classroom was rare indeed for him. Of course, Yamato knew this too.

"Did you want the food you bought this morning?" the blond supplied hesitantly, reaching down to grab his school bag. It was the only reason he could think of; perhaps Taichi had decided he'd much rather  _not_  give him the food.

But Taichi shook his head. "No, they're yours. Wait, haven't you eaten them yet?"

"I ate some . . . I haven't had time to eat them all," he replied. "But I will," he added, in case he seemed ungrateful. "I mean – if that's OK." Taichi just nodded his head.

Ken thought that exchange was a little odd, but didn't say anything. Yamato's character seemed to be getting clearer to him, though – he was very careful and hesitant of his words, like he didn't want to upset others. He definitely thought more about other people than he did himself, and though Ken liked that trait, he did wish the blond would give himself a little more credit.

"Actually," Ken began, "we were just talking about you. Well, your birthday. Yamato asked whether I was going. Am I invited?"

Taichi shrugged. "If you get me a present."

"Noted," Ken said wryly, as Taichi laughed with him.

"Actually, you know what would be an awesome present? If Tanaka got run over by a bus. That would make me fucking happy."

Taichi was talking about Sho Tanaka, a third-year student who had been recently named captain of the soccer team – but worse, he was also the starting centre forward. Taichi's chosen position. He and Sho had been fighting for the position all through last year, with the coach alternating between them in games. Now that a new year has started, it seemed the coach had chosen Sho permanently.

Ken gave him a sympathetic look. "He got first string 'cause he's a third-year. It'll be your turn next year."

"Yeah, I know," Taichi grumbled.

". . . But you have to admit, Taichi," Ken added, to be realistic, "he  _is_  a little better than you."

Taichi shot him a look. He  _wasn't_  going to admit that.

Yamato had been silent the whole time, but now spoke up. "Taichi was the best striker in elementary and junior high . . ."

Taichi was surprised – he didn't know Yamato even paid attention to his sporting achievements. He felt strangely flattered, which was odd indeed, as he never really let himself care about what Yamato thought of him before.

Ken gave a small chuckle. "Yeah, he bragged about it at the beginning of last year once or twice. Or a million times." Taichi shoved him playfully.

"Well, it's true . . ." Yamato didn't seem to be on the same wavelength as the other two, and kept defending his brother.

Ken nodded, to show Yamato that he believed him. "Yeah, I know. He really is good." He had said it for Yamato's sake, but Taichi gave him a playful fluttering of eyelashes. Ken shoved him.

Both boys stayed the whole of lunch with Yamato, doing most of the talking whilst Yamato ate his food and sometimes said a few words here and there. And though both boys seemed to be enjoying each other's company, they would have rather the other wasn't there.

* * *

Ken had managed to persuade Yamato to hang out with him again that afternoon at the mall. He had approached the blond shortly after school had finished, and as Taichi was still held up talking to his other friends, he hadn't noticed them leaving the school grounds together. Taichi had waited a while to walk home with Yamato before he realised he was gone. He had been a bit annoyed – not only of the fact that he'd waited around for nothing, but of the mere fact that he  _had_  waited at all.

Inside the mall, Ken and Yamato were walking by a guitar shop, when Ken noticed that Yamato was looking at the instruments through the window with interest. But it didn't look like the blond was going to suggest they go in, as if he didn't want to waste Ken's time by doing something  _he_  wanted, so Ken suggested it for him. "Hey, why don't we go inside?"

Yamato looked at him in surprise, nodded, and smiled. Ken always liked it when he smiled – it always made him smile in return.

The two entered the guitar shop and Yamato approached an acoustic guitar, Ken by his side. As Yamato examined the instrument, Ken looked at the price tag – 9,980 yen. He whistled internally; not being musically inclined, he had no idea guitars even got that pricey.

"Do you have a guitar?" Ken asked.

Yamato took his eyes away from the wooden instrument and looked at Ken. "No . . . they're too expensive . . ." He'd have to save up all his food money for almost half a year before he could afford this particular guitar. That was impossible.

"So you don't know how to play?"

"I do . . . a little bit. I get to play in school during music. And I read books at the library to learn the chords . . ." He actually knew more than 'a little bit' – but it was in his nature to be modest.

"Can you sing?" Ken asked.

"I don't know . . ." Yamato blushed a little. "I've never sung in front of anyone else before . . . but I think I can . . . maybe just a little . . ."

Ken grinned. "Maybe you can sing in front of me sometime? I'll try not to be biassed. Or I  _can_  be biassed, if that's what you want. Whichever you choose." Yamato gave him a shy smile.

A shop assistant approached them then, and asked if they were looking to buy something in particular.

"No, thank you, we're just looking," Yamato replied politely, and the shop assistant walked away.

But Ken was already thinking about asking his older brother for some money to purchase the guitar for Yamato. His rational mind knew it was pretty forward and fast – he'd only met the blond  _yesterday_  – but the other boy was triggering urges within him to please as much as possible; to make him smile for longer periods than he seemed capable of. It was strange, he'd never felt like that before. He'd never bought anyone – outside of his immediate family – a gift worth even half of what the guitar was worth. He just knew he wanted to buy Yamato this guitar. His birthday was only two weeks ago, so that was a good enough excuse, right?

"Is this your favourite?" Ken asked, in case there was another guitar that Yamato wanted. The blond nodded. So that was it – he was definitely going to purchase it, just not today. He wanted it to be a surprise, and he still needed to beg Osamu for money first. He didn't know whether or not to tell him it was for a  _boy_ , though . . .

* * *

When Yamato got home just before six he was 'greeted' by Toru, who was sat on the couch watching television, with boxes of pizza and bottles of alcohol on the coffee table in front of him.

"You're not cooking tonight. Hideki's working late with a new client, and Eito and Taichi are over their friends' places," Toru said with a sneering grin, because it meant Yamato wouldn't be having dinner for the third night in a row. What he didn't know was that Yamato himself was OK with it – Taichi had fed him breakfast, recess and lunch, and Ken had bought him an afternoon snack, so today had actually been one of his better days. Toru then swung his arm to indicate the floor in front to his right. "Sit down and do your homework."

Yamato did as told, dropping down to lie on his stomach as he took his homework out of his bag. For the next two hours Toru ignored him, eating pizza and drinking alcohol. It wasn't until Yamato was done doing all his homework and got to get up that Toru even seemed to realise he was still there.

"Where're you going?" Toru was drunk.

"To my room . . ." Yamato answered quietly. He didn't want to anger him in any way. "I've finished all my homework."

Toru sniggered, "Well give the boy a prize." Yamato didn't move, because he knew he didn't have permission to. Toru looked at the bottle of alcohol in his hand, then at Yamato. "D'you want some?"

Yamato shook his head. "No, I'm not allowed."

Toru snorted, "Are you fucking saying that you have more authority than me?" Again, Yamato shook his head. Toru stared at him for a few seconds before breaking out into a sneer. "D'you know what? I think I'll give ya some. I need to take a leak." He laughed but Yamato just looked confused – and worried.

"Take my dick out," Toru commanded, putting the bottle of alcohol down. Yamato kneeled down in front of him and did as told, unzipping his brother's pants and releasing his penis. He ducked his head down automatically to start sucking, but Toru grabbed his face first, clutching his jaw and forcing him to look at him. "This isn't a blow job. I'm gonna piss  _sweet_  sweet alcohol down your throat, and you better drink it all, else I'll kill you." He let go of Yamato's jaw, who looked up at him, stunned.

And Toru slapped him. "Well, get to it, faggot!" He stared Yamato down, voice acid. "Do it, or I kill you."

Yamato didn't know whether or not it made a difference that Toru was drunk – he was sure the threat would hold account either way. And like their father, Toru was a violent drunk when others weren't co-operative with him. Hell, Toru was violent with him anyway.

So Yamato closed his eyes and took Toru's penis into his mouth. It didn't take long for a bitter liquid to gush out of his brother's urethra and into his mouth. His first instinct was to pull away, but Toru surprisingly predicted that, and held his head in place.

"Drink, because if any escape, you're dead."

At that repeated threat Yamato began swallowing despite his distaste and Toru let go of him, leaning back leisurely as he relieved himself into his younger brother's mouth. However, after only a few more seconds, Yamato had had enough – he pulled back, taking Toru by surprise, spilling some urine from his mouth, and making Toru pee on himself a little before he had time to shut his bladder down.

Before Toru could react, Yamato had dashed away and locked himself in the bathroom. It only took several seconds before Toru was knocking and kicking at the door, though.

"Open up you little shit! You are  _so_  dead!"

Yamato sat in the bathtub, arms around his legs in a defensive position. He knew what he'd done was pretty much suicide, but he hoped the fact that Toru was drunk was in his favour – he'd never disobey a sober Toru, but a drunk Toru. Hopefully when his brother sobered up he'd see that, and Hideki and the others would too.

But then the door crashed open – Toru had managed to partially break the door off its hinges, enough to open it and barge through. His eyes landed on Yamato in the tub looking shit scared. Normally, Toru would've grinned menacingly, but not this time – he was actually fucking pissed off.

He advanced and there was no way for Yamato to make it out of the bathroom without trying to get past Toru – and as if he could. Toru would break every bone in his body. So the blond stayed where he was, and did the only thing he could – apologise, no matter how futile.

"I'm sorry," he said, shaken. "I'm  _really_  sorry, Toru . . ."

But the elder ignored him, and reached past the blond's shoulder to – the tap? Indeed, cold water flooded around him, and slowly built up when Toru plugged up the bathtub. Yamato sat there shivering in the water, wondering what Toru was up to.

"I told you you're dead," Toru said coldly, as if reading his mind. Those words did not reassure the blond one bit, and in a panic – seeing as Toru was under the influence of alcohol – he sprung up in an attempt to get out of the bathtub and past his older brother.

No such luck.

Toru grabbed him immediately before he could step foot out of the tub, and flung him back down. He hit his head on the tap and sunk beneath the water, dazed. Toru's hands reached down and held him securely by the shoulders. The blond squirmed, to get out of his hold or just to get up, it didn't matter – he only found resistance in Toru's strong hold.

Yamato was larger than the bathtub so because he was lying down now instead of sitting up, his legs were sticking out of the tub, kicking frantically in the air as Toru continued to hold his upper body underneath the water. And because Yamato wasn't completely weak – he was a full grown adolescent – he did make a lot of splashes as he struggled against his much stronger elder brother.

But Toru's vice-like grip only tightened under the water, sure to leave marks and bruises. He had tried desperately to hold his breath, but now closed his eyes as he felt water go up his nose and into his lungs.

_I'm going to die . . ._

And then Taichi walked in on the scene. He paused at first, since he didn't know what was going on – Toru could be holding Yamato under the water for a few seconds in the usual act of bullying he was so keen on. But as he stood there and a few seconds turned into several long seconds, Taichi stepped towards Toru and tugged at his arm.

Toru hadn't noticed that he had company, mainly because his senses were dulled due to alcohol – he swung his arm back by natural reflex, hitting Taichi in the jaw. Taichi's yelp of pain caught his attention though, and he turned towards him, Yamato forgotten.

"Taichi," Toru began, surprised. His brow creased in worry, and he seemed to sober up – at least enough to realise that he'd hurt his younger brother. "I'm sorry. You OK?" Below him in the bathtub, Yamato was both choking on water and gasping for air now that Toru had released him.

"Yeah . . ." Taichi replied, rubbing his jaw. He knew his jaw would've been broken if Toru had intended a direct purposeful punch, but luckily it had just been a swat of instinct so there wasn't really any force behind it – but it still hurt, because Toru's arm was huge. Taichi's eyes were focussed on Yamato, but Toru's were still focussed on  _him_.

"You sure? I can take you to the emergency room."

Taichi had always found it funny when Toru worried about him or Eito, or even Hideki. It just didn't seem to fit his look or personality, because he was so gruff and masculine. But he appreciated it all the same.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Taichi reassured him, before he hesitantly asked about what had happened with Yamato, who was shivering in the cold water, looking scared, exhausted and relieved all at once. "What were you doing?"

"Oh," Toru said dumbly, turning to look at Yamato before looking back at Taichi. He shrugged, carelessly. "I guess I almost killed him." Then he laughed. "Man, do you think Hideki would be pissed at me? Or would he be pleased, do you reckon?"

Taichi stared at him, stunned. Toru basically just told him that if he hadn't arrived home in time, Yamato would be dead. He didn't know how to react. He couldn't get  _angry_  – wait, could he? If Toru had merely hurt Yamato he couldn't get angry because that reaction would've been strange, but Toru had almost  _killed_  Yamato – surely the rules were different?

But before Taichi could open his mouth to tear Toru a new arsehole, Eito arrived looking surprised at the damaged door and flooded bathroom floor. He looked around at the three occupants then said, "Holy shit, Yamato's dead." Of course, he meant Yamato was going to be punished for whatever happened. Hideki certainly wasn't going to be pleased with the damage.

" _Almost_ ," Taichi gritted. "Toru tried to kill him."

"No shit?" Eito remarked, raising an eyebrow and looking over at the blond in the tub. "He looks alive to me." He and Toru sniggered.

Taichi narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, but he might not have been. Think about –" Taichi thought about how Hideki would react; he decided he  _would_  be angry at Toru, but for different reasons, "– about what that would mean for  _you_ , Toru. You'd get hauled off to jail!"

Though Toru knew that was a valid possibility if something had happened, he wasn't going to be lectured by his younger brother. He snorted. "Well thank god you saved me in time, Taichi."

But Eito picked up on how upset Taichi actually seemed to be, and so naturally began to take the situation more seriously – at least to hear the other side of it before making a judgement. He turned to Toru. "What did you do exactly?"

Toru looked at Eito, and relented a little. "Held him under water. He locked himself in here to get away from me!"

Eito looked at the youngest, judgement apparently made. "Come on Yamato, you know better than that."

The blond spoke for the first time since the situation arose. "H-he was d-drunk, so I got s-scared . . ." The cold water was affecting his speech. Taichi wanted to tell him to get out of the bathtub, but the presence of the other two stopped him.

"So?" Eito said, unimpressed. "He's not allowed to get drunk? Stop being a fucking wimp. You're not allowed to lock doors. So you got yourself 'almost' killed, not Toru."

_That's not fair_ , Taichi wanted to say, but held his tongue. "OK, let's just drop it," he said quietly instead. "I'll clean this up –"

"Why?" Toru asked, then pointed at Yamato. "Let him."

Taichi didn't answer right away. "I'm gonna give him a break just this once, OK? He almost died so I think he should be allowed to rest." He tugged at Yamato, giving him permission to get up and out of the cold water. Toru and Eito allowed it, but neither budged.

"Stop being so dramatic," Toru said.

"I'm not," Taichi replied, as he helped Yamato out of the tub and let the blond lean on him for support. "You're the one who almost killed him." Toru shook his head then left the bathroom, for which Taichi was glad.

Eito stayed however, giving Taichi a suspicious raise of an eyebrow. "You're acting weird, you know that, right?" Weird. A word usually reserved for Yamato.

"He almost died, OK," Taichi defended coldly, peeling Yamato's clothes off. It was a little difficult since the wet material clung to Yamato's skin, but luckily he only had three pieces of clothing, so soon he stood naked against Taichi. The brunet didn't know whether or not he liked seeing Yamato naked. The younger's body was covered with old, faded bruises, along with redder, more recent ones from yesterday – and today.

"Maybe it's karma," Eito said, looking Taichi directly in the eyes before turning to leave. Taichi knew what Eito was getting at, of course – Yamato had killed their mother, so in turn . . .

"I-I can clean this up, Taichi . . ." Yamato spoke up, now that Toru and Eito were gone.

Taichi shook his head and surprised Yamato by lifting him up into his arms. Even though the blond was thin for his age, he was still quite heavy, but Taichi thought he should be able to carry his weight just down the hall to their room with no trouble. And that's exactly what he did.

"You s-should've let me d-dry off in the bathroom, T-Taichi . . ." Yamato spoke up quietly, as Taichi set him down on his feet. He was wetting the floor.

Taichi shut the door behind them and locked it in case, before going to his closet and getting a towel for the blond. Usually, Yamato had to dry off without the help of towels, so he was surprised when Taichi offered him one.

"T-thanks . . ." he took it slowly, and started to dry himself.

"Put some clothes on, then lie down," Taichi instructed as he took the towel back. Yamato nodded and pulled out the school uniform meant for tomorrow as today's ones were wet on the bathroom floor. He'd just have to re-use them the next day.

Yamato pulled on his clothes and lay down on his mattress. Taichi opened his mouth, about to tell the blond to go sleep in his bed instead, but then shut it as he realised he'd have to keep the door unlocked when he went outside, and that would mean one of his brothers might come in and see Yamato in his bed. Not a good idea.

So, instead, Taichi just turned away, unlocked the door, and went to clean the bathroom. He wasn't looking forward to it, because he  _rarely_  ever cleaned in his life – mainly because Yamato had always done everything for him and the others. And now here he was, cleaning up for Yamato . . .

He really was getting weird.

Maybe Yamato was contagious.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, initially, before I began typing this chapter up, I had it in my head that Taichi wasn't going to stop being mean to Yamato until the end of next chapter. And this is how it turned out. Yay me and my plans.
> 
> Why do my chapters get longer? :( This was such a doozy to write, I'll probably leave this story alone for a while. Yeah, and then some nice person will leave a quality review and I'm back to writing. Which is what happened last chapter, only I got more than one – and am very thankful! :)
> 
> Please review. :)


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love you guys! Thank you once again for all the reviews, favourites and alerts! I'm glad my first venture into Taito is turning out all right. ;)
> 
> I apologise for taking over six months to finish this chapter; I just got caught back up in another interest of mine (which I actually first ditched to write this story). I honestly didn't think I'd go beyond the first chapter, though; I have a track record of mostly never doing so, and have only ever finished writing one story before. O_o So please keep the feedback coming; they matter a lot, not only because they're the only form of motivation I have to actually finish this story, but because they also help shape what I write. Please don't hesitate to give me your input if you want certain things to happen (or not to happen), because I do take them into consideration. ;)
> 
> For instance, I wasn't actually going to write the sexual abuse scene below (for better or for worse?), but instead was just going to have Taichi walk in on it from the get go. However, I've added it because bigfan! wanted more sexual abuse. ^^; And Kinky commented that Taichi seems "almost submissive" – which is not my intention at all, because I don't view Taichi as submissive in any way, shape or form. I've tried to make him appear more dominant in this chapter; hopefully, I pulled it off. ^^;
> 
> Oh, and jenna asked why I "made" Yamato "so tall". Well, because I wanted Taichi to be tall – at least six foot. And as Yamato is obviously around two inches taller than Taichi, he ends up being six two. From an official Japanese Digimon book, "Digimon Adventure Character File", regarding Yamato: 'He looks older than his age. His legs might be longer than Taichi's!?'. If you ever get the chance to watch Digimon Adventure/02 in its original Japanese form, do so; Yamato comes off as being older/bigger than Taichi. (But obviously he's not in this story, because I've made him Taichi's younger brother - and an abused child.)
> 
> It helps that Yamato's Japanese voice is deep and masculine (thus "booming" and gives you the impression that he's big), whilst Taichi's is pretty feminine (he's voiced by a female). I asked a friend of mine what she thought of Yamato's voice and she said "manly". Then I asked about Taichi's and she said "less manly". XD But that's the only remotely feminine thing I can say about Taichi – I do find it a little off-putting when people write him as feminine, because his character and personality are clearly very masculine. (But, needless to say, for this story I'm utilising Tai and Matt's English dub voices. :P)
> 
> Now that I've got all that out of the way, the warning for this chapter is sexual abuse, as mentioned above. Please skip to the next line break if it'll make you queasy. ^^;

Yamato's eyes would have glistened with tears had they been open; as it were, they were squeezed shut to stop the potential flow of such weak emotions. Sure, his older brother had almost drowned him – but so what? There was no need to cry about it. His whole life Toru had insulted him, beat him, raped him . . . it was to be expected, really. Besides, there had been one other time when his brothers had attempted to drown him – though they had claimed afterwards that they had only been 'playing around'.

It had been the weekend of his eighth birthday, and their father had taken them camping; it was one of only three times their father had actually remembered, or cared, to celebrate his birthday. There had been a lake nearby their campsite, and while their father took an afternoon nap, his brothers had decided to go explore; of course, he had naively tagged along, as he always did. That may have seemed weird, but like any kid, he idolised his elder brothers, despite their obvious dislike of him. He had always wanted to be included, to be one of them, hoping that eventually, they'd like him more – he'd just have to put up with potentially being hurt by them until then.

A little while after they'd arrived at the lake, his brothers had started jeering and taunting him about swimming. It wasn't the sport itself they were insulting, but his apparent skills and abilities in it; he'd been swimming in school for a year by then, having quickly emerged as a strong and natural swimmer. Swimming was one of the few things their father actually praised him on, making his brothers – Hideki and Toru in particular – bitter. They saw no reason for their father to be encouraging him about anything, and so mocking – and therefore downplaying – his triumphs was the usual thing for them to do; to belittle him about his accomplishments.

The insults had then escalated to Taichi pushing him into the lake, where his brothers then took turns dunking and holding him under, making him panic and regularly gasp for air, resulting in him accidentally swallowing and choking on water. The verbal abuse also continued, with taunts about how he was supposedly such a great swimmer, and yet was so close to drowning. When it came to Taichi's turn to dunk him, he had pleaded with him to stop and help him instead. That had made his brothers laugh – Taichi included.

Yamato remembered how hurt he had been by that. It had been less than a year since Taichi had started acting differently – at least towards him. The brunet's tongue had gotten sharper, his moods more sour, and his body language more aggressive. He had no idea why, and the few times he'd muster up the courage to ask, Taichi would either snap at him or shove him away. He had then speculated that maybe his brother knew what he was doing with their father, because despite the fact that their father had said it was their secret, Taichi had been so distant – so maybe he knew, and maybe he knew how . . .  _wrong_  he felt about it. Wrong. Bad.  _Dirty_.

Maybe Taichi didn't want anything to do with someone so dirty?

Up until the incident at the lake though, Taichi had never taken part in ganging up on him with the others, so during that small window of time, he at least had hope that Taichi would return to the way he was several months prior. But then, of course, the lake incident  _had_  occurred, and not only was Taichi obviously partaking in physically bullying him with the others, but he was also the one to initiate it by pushing him into the lake in the first place. It was probably the first time he had realised that he'd lost his brother.

Taichi was one of  _them_  now.

Yamato used his fingers to lessen the moisture in his eyes. He didn't want Taichi to know he'd been crying when he got back from cleaning the bathroom – his brother had always disliked it when he cried, always murmuring his disapproval, though he still comforted him regardless. It was the typical 'big boys don't cry' mantra, one that was often said to him by their father and elder brothers, and usually after they had hurt him. It had spoken volumes to him that Taichi had never said it after hurting him – because he never did; not like the others. That had separated Taichi from them in his mind at an early age, where he naturally trusted Taichi completely, clinging to him whenever he could and hiding behind him for protection. Taichi didn't seem to mind but rather seemed to like his attachment to him, and so since as far back as he could remember, Taichi had been his  _brother_. And he missed him – his  _real_  brother.

But that was a long time ago.

Taichi  _now_  was . . . well, up until recently, he'd been like the others – as he had been for the last eight or nine years. But now all of a sudden he'd been . . .  _nice_  to him. It felt weird and didn't sit right with him at all. Maybe Taichi was playing some sort of game to see how long he'd accept his kindness without protesting, as he should be? After all, he  _deserved_  to be treated as below them – he really should reject Taichi's kindness, because if it did turn out to be some sort of trick, he was probably going to really get it from Taichi later on . . .

He suddenly felt the urge to go to the bathroom and insist on cleaning it. He really didn't want to play games; if Taichi was making up some elaborate plot to dupe him into thinking he was on  _his_  side, only to turn around and laugh in his face then proceed to kick the living shit out of him – he didn't want that. He'd rather Taichi just hurt him straightforward like the others.

He sat up with the intent of going to the bathroom – but was stopped by the sound of the doorknob twisting. He looked towards the doorway in surprise, expecting Taichi, done from cleaning. Instead, two larger figures walked casually into the room, closing the door behind them: Toru and Eito – and one of them in particular did  _not_  look happy.

His heart began to race faster out of fear. "I'm sorry –"

"No one gave you permission to talk," Toru spoke darkly, approaching the blond and grabbing a fistful of his hair. "Take your pants off, cunt." Toru yanked Yamato off of the mattress by his hair, letting go of him so that he could do as told. Yamato landed on his arse and ignored the fact he was being handled roughly, and began to obediently take his pants off.

Eito placed a tube of lube and two packets of condoms onto the floor beside the mattress, so that his hands could be free to take off his own lower confines. He pulled them off quickly, then laid down with his back on the mattress, before reaching his right hand down to his groin to pump his member to erection. Toru took his own pants and underwear off, and began mimicking Eito's hand movements on his own member. Looking at Yamato, he motioned his head towards the objects beside the mattress, then referenced Eito.

"Put a condom on him."

Yamato moved forward on his knees and picked up a condom packet, tearing it open carefully, before rolling it onto Eito's engorged flesh.

"Now me."

Still on his knees, Yamato grabbed the remaining condom and moved towards Toru, repeating the same actions on the elder's erect penis. He was a little confused; wasn't Toru wasting his time in gaining an erection now? His brother would only go flaccid in the time Eito was going to take to fuck him. Well, maybe Toru just wanted to be ready immediately after Eito was done.

"Lube us up. Eito first."

Yamato turned back to Eito, picking up the lube and opening the cap, smearing a generous amount of the substance onto Eito's condom-covered shaft; his brothers didn't enjoy it if there wasn't enough lube to cause enough slick action. The only time they didn't bother with lube was when their penises weren't involved, because then the intent was just to hurt him.

"OK, get on the Eito express train," Toru grinned.

Eito laughed, "You're so lame." He folded his arms leisurely behind his head, and waited for the blond to impale himself on his awaiting cock.

Yamato got up to place his legs on either side of Eito's waist, before squatting himself down so that his knees were folded and he was in a stable position for what was to come. Since he was facing Eito he could feel his eyes on him, but he didn't make eye contact; despite being used to the rapes, he still felt embarrassed by it all.

Placing his left palm onto the ground to hold himself steady, Yamato used his right hand to hold Eito's penis and aim it correctly at his entrance. When he was satisfied, he made a bowel movement as he always did, and slowly sunk his brother's cock into his arse, until it was fully engulfed to the balls. Eito's fully matured eight inch cock would have taken the average person more time and difficulty to ease in, but Yamato had been experienced with the size since he was about ten, when their father had conceded that he had been old enough to take him in fully. Of course, their father had died a year later, but Hideki and Toru were always there in his place to remind Yamato's anus of what it was supposed to be able to take on a regular basis.

"Now lube me up," Toru said, moving to stand before Yamato at Eito's side.

That command surprised the blond as he was just about to start moving to pleasure Eito, but as before, he did as Toru told him. So with Eito motionless and still balls-deep within him, Yamato picked up the tube of lube he'd left on the floor and turned his upper body slightly towards Toru to lube him up.

Once done, he began to ride Eito in the upright kneeled position he was in – but was quickly stopped when Toru pushed him low and forward, so that his chest was mere centimetres away from Eito's face. When Yamato felt Toru's erection press against his arse, he realised what they were trying – no,  _going_  – to do.

_They're gonna double-dick me, oh god . . ._

Toru held onto Yamato's hips as he tried to stick his dick in next to Eito's by simply trying to ram it in, but after a few unsuccessful attempts it was clear he needed the help of fingers, at least, and so stopped – but like hell he was going to stick his own fingers up Yamato's dirty little arse. In actuality though, Yamato's rectum was cleaner than most, seeing as how they forced him to have enemas on a regular basis to keep clean for 'customers'.

"Lube your fingers up cunt, so you can widen yourself for me. And hurry it up before Eito and I go limp," Toru directed at Yamato in annoyance.

Yamato, cheeks stained red, reluctantly reached his hand down to grab the lube and quickly squeezed some of the substance onto two of his fingers. Using his left hand to support himself from falling on top of Eito, he brought his right hand back around his buttocks and pushed the lubed fingers into his anus alongside Eito's penis, being careful not to injure his brother's anatomy in any way. Once in, he curled his fingers and lifted them at an angle to create a gap for Toru to shove his cock in.

"Wider," Toru commanded bluntly.

Yamato breathed deeply and pushed his fingers in even further for more leverage, then scissored them apart to further widen the gap, and repeated his lift of his fingers at an angle, this time creating a bigger gap – but at the expense of feeling more pain as the already torn muscles of his anus tore further, making small inklings of blood appear around the surface rim.

Toru of course took no notice and manoeuvred the head of his penis towards the opening. It took further shoving and prodding on his part, as well as some jiggling of Yamato's hand, but he finally got in – his head, at least. He pulled Yamato's fingers out, tossing his hand aside, before shoving eight inches deep with one thrust.

Yamato gritted his teeth but couldn't hold back the noise that seemed to rumble in the back of his throat. His mind was screaming, ' _Out, out, OUT'_ , but obviously he wasn't going to get his way. It wasn't the length that hurt the most, because he'd had longer dildos and vibrators shoved in before, but the circumference of both his brothers' large dicks at the same time stretched his anal walls further than he ever wanted them stretched – especially considering what his anus had been subjected to the last few days.

And then Toru and Eito began to thrust, causing pain to spread further throughout his body. Though the brothers were thrusting in time with each other, they were doing so at different angles, thus hitting different spots within him at the same time where it wasn't previously possible with just one penis, giving Yamato the sensation of being split apart from within with every thrust. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on something other than the pain and humiliation.

"Feel good?" Eito chuckled from below him in obvious sarcasm. His light tone emphasised the difference between the two full brothers and Yamato in the current situation; the latter was in pain, the former were not.

"Of course," Toru answered for Yamato with a snigger. "He loves being a whore, don't you, whore-boy?"

Yamato didn't want to enjoy it because it  _hurt_. But as they progressed, the pleasure from the alternating friction to his prostate kept growing, eventually making him begin to pre-cum. He reached his hand down to secure his cock so that he wouldn't leak onto Eito.

"His dick loves it," Eito said with a smirk, having glanced at Yamato's erection.

"And so does his arse," Toru mirrored his smirk from the other end. "It's like a fucking balloon. You know when you stretch it open and stick things in, and it just wraps around whatever like a suction? His arse is totally wrapped around our cocks."

"Yeah?" Eito grinned. "Didn't you say he didn't have an arse? I thought you were gonna call it a pussy from now on."

Toru laughed. "Oh yeah. Man, his pussy is the ugliest I've seen. He should feel lucky, 'cause there are tonnes of pussies out there who would love to have two  _fucking_ hot brothers banging them at the same time." Eito laughed along with him.

Yamato forced himself to ignore their degrading banter and concentrated on controlling the motions of his hips to try and make them feel good enough to pull out. He always wanted these 'sessions' to end sooner rather than later, and the sooner they ended depended on how fast his brothers got close to orgasm, so that they could then pull out and make him finish them off orally. Neither of the two had ever reached orgasm by penetrating anally alone; the most they did was pre-cum in their condoms.

Thrust after thrust Yamato moved in time with Toru behind him, gripping his leaking cock away from Eito and close to his abdomen, unfortunately getting some of his seed onto his shirt. Eito was thrusting too, but his thrusts were limited due to his position, so Toru controlled most of the movements; which was fine, because Eito still felt Yamato wrapped tightly around him, forced to move with every one of the elder's thrusts.

Soon, the two brothers were almost ready to pull out for some good oral – when the bedroom door opened, and the youngest brunet Yagami stood in the doorway. Eito could see Taichi from his position facing the door, but Toru had to turn his head to see who it was. He didn't stop thrusting, however.

Taichi took in the unexpected view before him with disbelieving eyes, slowly looking over the scene, before making eye contact with Eito, and then Toru. He closed his eyes in an attempt to calm down before he made an outburst he'd regret.

_One. Two. Three – Fuck it._

"What the  _fuck_!"

"What?" Toru asked, unfazed by the younger's obvious anger.

Taichi stalked into the room and glared at his older brothers. "Get.  _Off_. Him." Up close, he could see just how wide Yamato's anus was spread to accommodate two large cocks. That had to  _hurt_. It only angered him more, and he clenched his fists instinctively.

"We're just about to," Toru replied in a bored tone, "so calm down and wait your turn."

Taichi's eyes flashed. "I'm not  _fucking_  waiting my turn! Get  _off_  him. You almost fucking killed him and then you decide that wasn't enough! You go behind my fucking back –"

"Maybe we wouldn't of had the chance to go behind your fucking back if you'd been in here in the first place, instead of cleaning the mess the little shit made? So the blame's on you, you little arsewipe," Toru retorted coldly – who the fuck did Taichi think he was, yelling at him like that?

Luckily, Eito was a little less insensitive, usually being able to tell when Taichi was genuinely upset about something – though in this particular instance, it was blatantly obvious. He propped himself up on his elbows. "C'mon Toru, slide out so I can get out. We're going soft anyway."

Toru looked at Eito silently for a few seconds, before shaking his head and doing as instructed. It wasn't because he did everything Eito told him to do – far from it – but because Eito was smart and levelheaded and always seemed to look at things objectively. Most of the time, anyway.

Eito pushed Yamato  _gently_  off of him to the side – for Taichi's sake. Yamato appreciated the relief off his anus, but knew the events unfolding weren't going to be in his favour. He stared silently at the floor, not daring to look elsewhere. He felt bewildered and awkward by Taichi's outburst, and wanted to disappear – his brothers were arguing, and it was  _his_  fault. Past experience taught him that he was the one who was going to be hurt by the end of this.

"Happy?" Toru said sarcastically as he stood up and took his lightly soiled condom off, before throwing it at Yamato, who flinched a little in surprise.

Taichi didn't like that but refrained from commenting. "I'd be happier if you got the fuck out of my room," he replied coldly instead. Toru intimidated a lot of people, and most wouldn't dare talk to him like that, but he wasn't scared of him; mainly because they were brothers, so he knew Toru would never  _really_  beat him up or anything.

Eito didn't know whether it was because he was the middle child or what, but he always seemed to be the one to try to break things up – but then, that could be because Toru and Taichi were constantly at each other's throats; ironic, seeing as the two were the most similar in personality. "Come on, guys. Everything's cool, OK?" Eito pulled his condom off and grabbed some tissues, wiping some pre-cum off his penis before putting his pants and underwear back on.

"He's not," Toru jerked his head at Taichi. He grabbed a few tissues from Eito and wiped his dick clean, before repeating his prior actions of throwing them at Yamato. "It's like he's fucking . . .  _worried_  about the cunt's welfare or some shit. So I almost killed him – so fucking what? We'd bury the fucker and forget he ever existed." He bent down to pick up his own pants and underwear to pull on.

Yamato knew his brothers didn't care about him, but it still hurt every time one of them actually said it. He'd tried to numb himself from their insults throughout the years, but to little success; their words continued to hurt him and  _sometimes_  he'd feel angry towards them – but then would quickly chide himself and apologise to them in his head, because he knew he had absolutely no right to feel any ill will towards them.

Taichi paused as what Toru said sunk in, but then he shook his head, "This isn't about Yamato."  _Yes it is._  "It's about you guys disrespecting me –"

"What the fuck?" Toru snorted. "Since when do you say shit like ' _disrespecting_ '?"

"Did you not listen to me at all in the bathroom?" Taichi chose to ignore him. "You would've been sent to jail, you fucking dumbarse."

At that, Toru took a step towards Taichi so that they were face to face, save for a slight height difference, with barely a few centimetres separating them. "Stop  _fucking_  cussing at me," the elder hissed hypocritically.

"What's your problem?" Taichi gritted back. "All Yamato did was lock the fucking door on your drunk arse and you try to fucking kill him? You're a fucking idiot."

Eito decided to cut in because Toru looked as though he was going to strike their younger brother any minute now. "It wasn't just that, Taichi," he started, having heard the entire story from Toru earlier after they'd left Taichi and Yamato in the bathroom. "Yamato was supposed to drink Toru's urine and –"

"What!" Taichi exclaimed incredulously, feeling his anger rise. How the fuck could Eito say that so casually? He turned his shocked gaze away from Eito and glared at Toru, feeling the urge to punch him in the face. "What the fuck is wrong with you? I think running away from you was the least he could have done. If it were me, I would have bitten your dick off."

Toru gave him the finger. "Whatever. The faggot disobeyed me –"

"So you tried to kill him because he didn't want to drink your foul piss?" Taichi said sardonically.

"Says you," Toru scoffed. "Look, I held the cunt under water for a while, big deal. I was gonna let him up sooner or later. Probably."

"Yeah," Taichi remarked dryly, nodding his head, "after he'd  _died_."

Toru shrugged nonchalantly, a whisper of a smile on his lips. "Oh well?"

Taichi's eyes narrowed into slits. "And after all that, you still come in here to shove your fucking pricks up his fucking arse at the same fucking time."

To that, Toru gave a smug smile. "It's not our fault we actually fit – not our fault his pussy's so huge." Eito stifled a laugh at Toru's use of his new dubbing of Yamato's arse.

Taichi wasn't so amused. "Yes it fucking is your fault. And he doesn't have a fucking vagina –"

"Oh, I don't know, I think you'll find that he's on his period right now," Toru smirked at his own reference to Yamato's bleeding.

Taichi  _really_  had to resist the urge to punch him. "That's your fucking fault too," he gritted. "You've been fucking him forever –"

"I wasn't the one who stuck a huge vibrator up his pussy on Sunday," Toru remarked casually.

 _Stop calling it that_ , Taichi thought coldly. But he had to concede that Toru was right; he  _was_  the one who had shoved that thing up Yamato's arse and caused his first bleeding of the week. Fuck he regretted doing it now . . . but still, what he said held up. His older brothers, father, and all Yamato's 'customers' were responsible for stretching the blond's anus to accommodate a variety of sizes over the years. Only, he really shouldn't complain about that to his brothers. It wasn't like he'd been against it before . . . right?

Toru took Taichi's prolonged silence as a victory, and he broke out into a smirk. "I believe Yamato's supposed to suck me and Eito off now, so if you have a problem with that, you may leave."

That snapped Taichi out of his thoughts, and he gave his brother a 'you must be fucking kidding me' look. " _You_  may fucking leave  _my_  fucking room."

Before Toru could fling something back or get physical, Eito – always the mediator – stepped in between them, effectively separating the two. "Come on guys, cut it out. I mean – you're fighting because of that thing over there," he pointed at Yamato, whose eyes were still on the floor, "so relax. He's not worth arguing over. He probably thinks it's funny that you two are fighting because of him. So let's just forget this, OK? C'mon, we're brothers."

 _Yamato's our brother, too_ , Taichi thought bitterly – surprising himself. He also didn't like Eito referring to Yamato as 'that thing', but he let it slide; it wasn't like he could protest about it, anyway. Besides, Eito was trying to help. He nodded his head slowly. "Fine –"

"What the hell happened to the bathroom door?"

Hideki had finally arrived home.

* * *

Taichi lay in his bed staring up at the ceiling whilst his mind wandered. He had his economics homework laid out on his stomach, with the intent of doing it as a distraction (plus he had to get it done, anyway), but all he could think about was Yamato. The blond was no doubt being hurt by the others, but rather than be there to watch, he had decided to sit it out; he didn't think he could handle feeling any more frustrated. Hideki arriving had felt like all the odds were stacked up against him; arguing with Toru was one thing, but arguing with Hideki was another thing entirely – you just didn't  _do_  it, especially over Yamato.

He respected Hideki a lot; they all did – it was hard not to. Hideki had practically raised them, and had certainly been more of a father to them than their own crazy father had been. When their father had been fired from his job due to his increasing incompetence, Hideki had to go out and find one – a shitty little paper route to pay the bills at first, and then numerous other little jobs to keep the family afloat. At the same time, he'd also had to look after them  _and_ study hard throughout school to get into college so that he could get a decent job; as it were, he ended up as a personal trainer at a gym where he had mostly female clients who paid him 7,500 yen an hour. Needless to say, their eldest brother had done well for them.

His only fault was treating Yamato like shit – something that Taichi hadn't even really considered a fault a few days ago.

Hideki had been  _pissed off_  when he was told about the events of the night. It wasn't surprising, but Taichi at least thought he'd be a little angrier at Toru, too. However, Hideki had completely exploded at Yamato, who had looked so frightened that Taichi had almost instinctively stepped in. Almost. Luckily, Eito had stepped in instead; he had no idea why, until Eito went on about how they'd just beaten Yamato up yesterday so Hideki had to calm the fuck down before he fucked up Yamato's face in a rage of fury that the blond would be out of school for a while – not a smart thing for them to let happen, seeing as school had just started and an extended absence would look suspicious.

But they still took Yamato to beat him up anyway – just in a more calm, in control manner.

God he hated the smug look Toru gave him as they left the room. He didn't agree with hurting Yamato, but what the fuck could he do? Nothing. Oh, well, he could tell his brothers that he  _kind_  of,  _might_  of, have feelings for their younger brother.

Yeah,  _that'll_  go well.

He thumped his head back against his pillow. Did he have feelings for Yamato? Fuck that was just . . .  _what_  was it?

Besides incestuous, that is.

Taichi rolled his eyes at himself. But sarcastic was far from what he was feeling – it was more like . . . depressed. What the fuck was wrong with him? Did he just fucking admit to . . .  _liking_  his little brother?

No, maybe he just needed to go out more, see other guys –

Girls.

Girls, girls, girls,  _girls_ , damnit.

He liked girls, didn't he?

He dated Meiko in junior high. She was fucking  _hot_ ; a freakin' cheerleader who most guys would've loved to have hang off their arm. He had only gone out with her for a couple of months, but in that time she  _had_  tried to have sex with him – only he had choked.

 _Fuck_.

He thumped his head again.

Maybe – maybe there was a  _slight_  possibility that he was gay.  _Maybe_. But he definitely did  _not_  like Yamato – because that was just  _wrong_. He was just . . . feeling protective? But the last time he felt protective of Yamato was . . . well, like, eight? That didn't make sense. Why was he suddenly feeling so protective of Yamato  _now_? Fuck that – he  _shouldn't_  be feeling protective of Yamato, period. So – so that can't be the fucking answer. No, it  _had_  to be something else. The gay issue?

He thumped his head again.

Fuck Yamato because he had bigger things to worry about. It was easy to gloss over and say that hey, yeah, maybe he  _was_  gay – but to actually  _think_  about it? Shit. Did he like –  _fuck_  – did he like . . .  _cock_? But since when,  _damnit_?

_Since you started thinking about banging your little brother through the floor._

Multiple thumps, this time.

_Stop thinking about Yamato, damnit._

OK, so – so . . . he was gay.  _Maybe_. And because he was gay –  _maybe_  – he started to want to . . . have some arse? Shit that sounded weird. If he  _was_  gay, why did that sound weird? Maybe . . . he  _wanted_  it to sound weird? Fuck.

But what the fuck was wrong with being gay, anyway? He was still more masculine than most guys he knew. That was  _fact_. Being gay didn't make him a fucking pansy like his brothers seem to think all gays were – right? Because he didn't fit into those stereotypes; fuck, people probably thought Eito was more inclined to be gay than he was, and Eito screwed more girls than Hideki and Toru did combined.

It was . . .  _OK_  to be gay, wasn't it? It didn't change who he was; he was still the guy everyone followed, still the guy the girls in his grade most wanted to fuck – still the absolute  _shit_ , damnit. He was Taichi Yagami for fuck's sake – king of the whole fucking second-year.

He just happened to like cock – no big deal.

 _. . . Yes it is_.

Fuck. He'd almost talked himself up to it. But . . . well – he didn't  _want_  to be gay. He didn't want his brothers to look down on him, which they  _fucking_  would if he came out – oh shit. He was already talking about coming out? It made it so fucking  _real_ , this . . . liking cock stuff. Fuck.

Maybe it was Yamato.

Yeah, maybe it was Yamato – prancing around showing his arse and shit. Yamato was  _available_  – he was a  _free fuck_ , damnit. He didn't have to be gay – or have to  _like_  a person in question – to want to screw an available arse, right? Yamato was just  _there_ , and as he was an almost seventeen year old who was still a fucking virgin – a fact his elder brothers found amusing to no end – it was entirely possible that he was just freakin' horny and wanted to get laid, regardless of gender or . . . blood ties. Entirely  _fucking_ possible.

But then why had he gone to Yamato's classroom at lunch today?

His gay self-debate was put on hold however when his bedroom door opened, gaining his attention; not surprisingly, it was Yamato – also not surprisingly, he had his eyes fixed downwards as he shuffled inside quietly and made to close the door behind him. A week ago he would've sneered at the blond and mockingly ask what was so fascinating about his feet and/or the floor.

"Lock the door," Taichi found himself saying this time, though in a rougher tone than he'd intended. He guessed he was just used to talking to Yamato like that.

Yamato's defeated eyes flicked onto Taichi briefly, giving him a small nod, before doing as told. Taichi could tell he'd been crying. The blond then walked, slowly and rather hunched, towards his mattress, before laying down on it on his stomach and turning his face away from Taichi.

Taichi sat in his bed just looking at him. It was odd how he could be defending Yamato one moment and then be at a total loss as to how to act when the two of them were alone together. But, well, how  _was_  he supposed to act? He didn't know. He just knew he didn't like the way Yamato was treated – or how they made him cry . . .

The bedside lamp was the only source of light in the room, dully illuminating across both of them. Taichi figured that as soon as he turned the lamp off, Yamato would probably start crying under the cover of darkness. The blond cried himself to sleep a few nights every week, at least, only Taichi had never let himself care much before. Heck, he had even yelled at Yamato on numerous occasions for crying too loud that he was keeping him up; one time had been after Toru and a bunch of his college friends had gang raped him – and then he had to go and add salt to the wounds . . .

Taichi wanted to make it up to him. There were  _a lot_  of things he wanted to make up for, even if he couldn't (or refused to) make sense of what or why he was feeling like Yamato actually  _meant_  something to him. He hesitated, ". . . Yamato?"

Silence.

And then, ". . . Yes?"

His voice sounded scared – and for some reason Taichi felt a little hurt by that. Did Yamato think he was going to hurt him, even after tonight?

"Come sleep in here with me."

"Wh-y . . ." Yamato started to say, but then stopped – questioning Taichi was wrong. "I . . . are – are you sure?"

"Yes."

Slowly, Yamato got up. Taichi grabbed his homework and pen and got up to let Yamato in, whose red-rimmed eyes looked at him with gratitude and wonderment.

"Thanks, Taichi . . ." Yamato said softly as he got into Taichi's bed and moved towards the wall, pulling the covers up around himself. "Really . . . thanks . . ." He was astonished that Taichi was  _still_  being nice to him, but he didn't know how to thank him, other than to say the word.

Well, he could . . .  _pleasure_  him, but Taichi had never seemed all that interested in that sort of stuff. After all, his brother would just fuck him if he wanted to, right? So he must not want that – and maybe even . . . didn't want anything at all? He felt bad for thinking earlier that maybe Taichi was up to something – especially after he had  _argued_  with Toru for him. Well, maybe it wasn't actually  _for_  him, but close enough. And though he appreciated Taichi's recent kindness, he figured it'll fade soon enough. He'd been thinking about it a lot and had come to the conclusion that his brother probably felt guilty about the vibrator thing. He wanted to tell Taichi that he didn't hold that against him, but, well . . . selfishly, he liked having Taichi being nice to him – it certainly beat the other three  _not_  being nice to him.

Taichi got back into his bed but didn't reply to Yamato's expression of gratitude, because 'You're welcome' seemed stupid to say. Like, 'You're welcome, even though you really should have your own bed instead of sleeping on the fucking floor like a dog'. Stupid – though it could be worse. Hideki was going to make Yamato sleep on the tiled floor of the tiny laundry room had he not told him that he was fine with Yamato staying; the blond really must miss the days their father was alive.

When they were little they had separate beds, but a lot of the time Yamato would sleep in their father's room. And on nights when he didn't, instead of sleeping in his own bed, he would often sleep with Taichi in his. Back then, Yamato would wrap his short arms around Taichi's waist and fall asleep with his head on his chest. How times had changed. If Yamato were to do that  _now_ , making intimate bodily contact . . .

Taichi would probably get hard.

 _Fuck_.

And then the earlier sight of his brothers double-dicking Yamato entered his mind – and he willed his pants not to tighten. Despite how wrong it was or how much he tried to oppress it, he thought about how  _hot_  it would be if it had been  _his_  cock up Yamato's arse.

 _You're sick, Taichi_.

He promptly decided to ignore the fact that Yamato was just centimetres away from him, and tried to concentrate on his homework instead; the sooner he got it done the sooner he could go to sleep and think about absolutely nothing – but it was harder to do than to say.

 _Come on, Taichi_ , he tried to focus, staring at his open book. It was his economics homework, for fuck's sake – he was  _good_  at it. It was his best subject, along with political science – he always got marks in the high 80s to mid 90s in them, and his friends were constantly floored by the fact that he was so good at them and so shit at everything else. He maintained that he could only pay attention in subjects that interested him, and those two did, though his friends still thought that was weird. He couldn't explain their allure, though; they were just really simple to him and he liked them – though not tonight, apparently.

He closed his schoolbook and opened the top drawer of his bedside table before shoving it in along with his pen, then switched his lamp off, enveloping the room in complete darkness. He wasn't going to get his homework done so it was best to go to sleep – the fact that Yamato probably needed the room to be dark to actually fall asleep had occurred to him, too. It was weird – this feeling of  _caring_  about Yamato. He just hoped it was his big brother instincts at work after being out-of-commission for almost a decade.

But he knew that wasn't it – at least not entirely. And  _that_ , he did not like one bit.

* * *

Taichi stared vacantly at his breakfast plate the next morning, deep in thought. It was hard to believe that only three days ago he wouldn't have been thinking so much about Yamato, and now . . . well, the blond was all he thought about – and in a very  _wrong_  way. Hell, he'd jerked off in the shower just half an hour earlier to the image – the one he was desperately trying to forget – of Yamato's double-penetration. Wrong, wrong,  _wrong_.

"Taichi," Hideki snapped him out of his thoughts, "finish your breakfast. Or else it goes straight in the bin if you're done." Apparently he wasn't allowing Yamato any food today.

Taichi took a bite of his toasted sandwich and stole a glance at Yamato who was just standing there looking at the floor as per usual. He was still against the idea of Hideki punishing Yamato for something that wasn't really his fault, but purchasing Yamato food for the day would be easy enough to do.

"Are you walking again?" Hideki asked as he got up and pushed his chair under the kitchen table. Taichi nodded.

"I'm walking too," Eito piped up from his chair, "so you and Toru can go."

Taichi frowned inwardly – he couldn't buy Yamato food from that store now. And after last night, he also wasn't particularly fond of Eito, despite the fact that he'd been the most understanding – Eito had, after all, still gone along with Toru in the first place.

"All right," Hideki said with a nod, glancing at Toru. "Come on."

As Toru followed Hideki out of the kitchen, he purposefully bumped into Yamato, who lost his footing a little. Taichi could only roll his eyes at how juvenile his older brother was.

Eito thought nothing of it and stood up. "You ready Taichi? Grab your bag and let's go."

"Nah," Taichi replied cooly, "I gotta do my homework, so I'm gonna leave when I have to." Maybe he could get Eito to go ahead without him so that he could still purchase Yamato some food.

But Eito gave him a slightly puzzled look before saying, "OK. I'll wait for you in the living room, then." Taichi groaned inwardly as he watched Eito exit the kitchen.

". . . Are you done, Taichi?" Yamato spoke up quietly. He motioned towards Taichi's half-eaten toast. "Can I take your plate . . .?"

Taichi found it a little depressing that Yamato actually had to ask for permission to clear away the table – it was like asking for permission to be a  _slave_. But that was how it had always been.

"Yeah, I'm done," he replied, getting up from his chair and shoving the remains of his toast into his mouth all at once – quite an amusing feat to see, because even the corners of Yamato's mouth curved upwards into a half-smile at the sight. Taichi gulped it all down and found himself smiling back at him, which made Yamato blush a little before lowering his eyes and focussing on getting all the tableware into the sink.

It was actually their first mutual smile in a  _long_  time – a fact that made Taichi both happy and sad.

"Take a quick shower, yeah?" Taichi said easily, due to their minor breakthrough, though it was quite unneeded as Yamato always took quick showers – he had just wanted to prolong speaking to him. Their interactions were still at a mediocre level, but he figured any form of communication was good communication – it could only help to progress their . . . relationship. "I'll wait for you in our room."

Yamato looked at him in a little surprise. "OK."

Taichi nodded his head at him then left the kitchen to their bedroom. It was going to be tough to – to do whatever the hell he was trying to do with Yamato. Be friends? Be . . .  _brothers_? In any case, he was trying to be nice to him – to treat him as a  _human being_. He guessed . . . he wanted things to be normal between them; for things to go back to the way they were.

He was off to a good start, wasn't he? Yamato had just  _smiled_  at him, so for that split-second, it meant he was  _comfortable_  around him – or at the very least, didn't see him as a total stranger to be feared of. He was on the right track to normalcy with the blond, then – well . . . if he ignored the  _minor_  slip-up of masturbating to his getting fucked. Yeah,  _that_  was a little weird and  _definitely_  not normal. But . . . but so what – Yamato had a cute arse; it was the fact that it was cute and  _not_  because it was Yamato's that made him jerk off.  _Of course_.

"Homework, homework, homework," Taichi muttered to himself, taking a seat on his bed and pulling his economics book out of his school bag. He hadn't really intended on doing it like he'd told Eito, but he might as well – it could keep his mind off thoughts he  _shouldn't_  be having of Yamato.

Five minutes later though and he hadn't achieved anything – well, other than think about what Yamato was doing in the shower. Did he masturbate, maybe?

_OK, stop._

He was  _really_  creeping himself out – and it didn't help when Yamato entered the room, fully nude. He forced himself not to look at the blond's obvious anatomy – only to think about how hot he looked with wet hair.

Yamato advanced towards his cardboard box of clothes; he had intended to re-use the uniform he'd put on last night, but that had ended up with cum stains, so he figured he'd use tomorrow's uniform for today. He wasn't aware of Taichi's eyes on him as he pulled out what he needed – he was used to being naked around his brothers, after all.

Taichi's mood changed as Yamato's back was exposed to him. "What did they do to you last night?" he asked, even though he had a fairly good idea from the wounds.

Yamato turned to him as he pulled on his pants. "Belted me . . . then burnt me with cigarettes . . ." His voice was quiet, and Taichi could tell he was trying not to sound like he was placing blame on anyone.

Taichi sighed internally. Their brothers' usual method of belting Yamato was to use both ends – which meant the belt buckle end, too. That could actually damage Yamato's spine – but like they gave a fuck. As for the cigarettes, their brothers were fond of burning random patches of Yamato's skin – but they found it even more fun to burn an open sore, which is what they obviously did yesterday, by the looks of it. No wonder Yamato had cried.

"Was that it?" Taichi queried, even though that made it sound like it hadn't been much – when he was actually feeling like shit for not being able to help Yamato.

". . . I have to go to GB on Saturday." Yamato turned his back to Taichi as he buttoned up his long-sleeved shirt – but even he couldn't hide the fact that he was less than thrilled, because he  _loathed_  that place; he just hoped Taichi wouldn't be offended and just let it slide.

A few days ago Taichi might've been bothered by Yamato's obvious disappointment and taken it as rude and disrespectful – it was like the blond saying his given punishment wasn't good enough for him – but not now. His perspectives had changed. It still felt a little weird to him – this  _transitioning_  period – but . . . he  _knew_  he'd rather protect Yamato than hurt him. He also knew how much Yamato hated GB.

GB was a gay bar that was managed by a friend of Hideki's. Since Yamato was twelve, they had sporadically forced him to 'work' there in the backroom, illegally; basically, it was a quick and easy way for them to make money – and also to make Yamato miserable at the same time. It was a legit bar though, so only people in the 'know' – through word-of-mouth – knew about the occasional backroom stint; as it were, word spread fast. 'Customers' would pay 10,000 yen to fuck Yamato for ten minutes, or until they reached orgasm – whichever occurred first.

GB's opening hours were 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Yamato  _never_  went without a fuck during those seven hours, so theoretically, he made them more than 400,000 yen a night. It was a lot of money for just one night, but they made more on a per person basis from the usual (and less brutal) way of renting him out; they liked to think of GB as 'sex for the poor'. Taichi couldn't imagine having a cock up his arse for seven hours straight, and had always felt bad for Yamato whenever their brothers decided to take him to GB – sometimes as a punishment, or sometimes just because they felt like it.

Taichi had gone once with Hideki to pick Yamato up from GB. They'd had to wait a few minutes for the last guy to 'finish', and he remembered thinking about how much he'd have liked to cut that guy's penis off – of course, at the time, he'd had no idea why. When the guy had gone, and whilst Hideki collected all the money from his manager friend, Taichi had advanced closer towards Yamato, and the image of the blond from that early morning was burned into his brain: Half-naked. Blindfolded. Hands tied. Arse fucked raw.

He'd never gone along to pick Yamato up from GB since.

". . . I'm ready," Yamato spoke up tentatively, now fully dressed with his jacket buttoned up.

Taichi shoved his homework back into his bag then reached over to one of his drawers where he kept his loose change, grabbing six 500 yen coins and offering them to Yamato. "Here, for food." At least he'd found a solution to his problem.

Yamato looked surprised as usual, before hesitantly approaching Taichi, accepting the coins. When he saw what they amounted to though, he reached his hand back out towards his brother. "Taichi, this is . . . I can't . . ."

"Yeah you can," was the brunet's blunt reply; Yamato was damn well getting fed.

But Yamato's hand stayed outstretched towards him. "But . . . yesterday, I . . . was bad . . ." He wasn't used to being given 3,000 yen at once unless it was money Hideki had specifically given him to go out and buy groceries with. So why was Taichi giving him money for  _food_ , basically going behind Hideki's back?

"Yeah, well, you're already being punished for that," Taichi replied, even though he didn't think Yamato had been 'bad'. The blond's childish speech was a little weird – sometimes Taichi thought his younger brother seemed smart and mature, but other times, like now, he seemed naive and innocent. Surprisingly, he actually found it a little endearing. "It's fine, really."

Yamato looked as though he wanted to protest but then thought better of it – it was better to do as told. "Thanks . . ." he gave in, slowly retracting his hand and placing the coins into his pants pocket. And he hated himself for it, but he couldn't help thinking back to his thoughts about Taichi playing some sort of sadistic game and tricking him for his own amusement – but, well, Taichi  _had_  just given him the equivalent of six weeks' worth of the allowance he got from Hideki . . .

Taichi gave him a slight smile. "Wait for me after school at the front gates, OK? We'll walk home together." He didn't want Yamato to do a disappearing act on him again.

"OK . . ." Yamato nodded slowly, still unsure of Taichi's motives – even though he shouldn't be questioning him at all. His brother could do whatever the hell he wanted to, like make him go home immediately after school, even though he had little desire to be around Toru so soon again. He had planned to go to the mall or the library after school – maybe even 'hang out' with Ken if the older boy wasn't sick of him yet, and would actually be kind enough to ask – just to keep out of harm's way, but now those plans were scrapped.

Taichi couldn't help noticing Yamato's lack of enthusiasm – did the blond have a problem with walking home with him? Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he let out a gruff, "Let's get going."

* * *

The high school-aged Yagamis walked together in silence; the elder two in front, side-by-side, whilst the younger walked behind. It was common for Yamato to be mute, but not so for the other two; Taichi was just naturally loud, and Eito had the tendency to speak more around him than anyone else. Needless to say, it was a very awkward walk to school.

Taichi noted that they hadn't walked to school together – just the three of them – since he was a second-year junior high school student. Weird – especially the fact that he and Eito  _weren't_  bullying Yamato. The times they'd done this back then they'd be pushing and shoving the blond around just for the heck of it, or continuously throwing and kicking his school bag out of his reach. Eito had even once pulled Yamato's pants down so that he had embarrassingly flashed a bunch of kids from school; Taichi had found that particularly hilarious at the time. Eito was a riot.

But there  _had_  been a time when Eito had been nice to Yamato – back when they were  _really_  little. Taichi remembered how he and Eito would place tiny four year old Yamato into an open cardboard box and drag him around in it, pretending it was a plane. Back then, Eito actually seemed to  _like_  making Yamato happy – even sometimes making him jealous; just a little. Eito would even regularly ask their father for money so that Yamato could ride a mechanical coin-operated kiddie plane every time they went to the shops.

Yamato liked planes – or at least he did; Taichi didn't know if that fact still stood. He realised he didn't know a lot about Yamato, despite the fact that they'd shared a bedroom their whole lives.  _That_  needed to be fixed, somehow. Maybe he should purchase a model aeroplane for Yamato as a late birthday gift, and see how that goes? That one time he had gotten angry at Yamato for breaking  _his_  model aeroplane, the blond had only laughed – until the little moron realised that it was  _really_  broken and couldn't be fixed;  _then_  he had burst into tears for  _hours_.

Taichi wondered if that was the first time he'd ever felt exasperated.

Thinking about those memories, though . . . it made him smile.

Eito noticed him smiling at nothing and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Whatcha smilin' about?" he asked in an easy tone, trying to break some ice.

Taichi wasn't having any of that. "Nothing," he replied, then shrugged Eito's arm off. "Don't be a . . . faggot." Using that as an insult though, he did feel a little weird and . . . hypocritical.

Eito gave a small laugh, refusing to acknowledge Taichi's coldness. "The only fag here is Yamato," he cocked his head back at the blond.

Taichi stopped walking, making Eito and Yamato follow suit. "Leave him alone," he found himself saying, staring Eito straight in the eyes. He wagered that he could afford to say that – Eito felt like he owed him, after all.

And he was right.

"I didn't mean anything by it," Eito replied evenly. "It's not like he's actually gay."

Wait. What?  _Fuck._

That hadn't even occurred to him – he'd been thinking so much about whether  _he_  was gay that he hadn't even thought about the possibility that Yamato  _wasn't_. In fact, he had just assumed Yamato  _was_  because he got fucked up the arse all the time. But that meant nothing – they  _forced_ Yamato to have sex with men; it wasn't like he had a fucking  _choice_. So unless they could  _make_  someone gay, Yamato most likely wasn't. Great. It was bad enough that  _he_  might be gay, but now he could be lusting after a  _straight_  brother?  _Fuck_. There were so many things wrong with that sentence.

"You know," Eito then said in a serious tone, denoting a change of subject, "Hideki thinks you freaked out last night because of Mum and Dad."

"Huh?" came Taichi's ever intelligent reply. His mind was more focussed on the matter of his probable incestuous and homosexual lust for a possibly heterosexual brother. His mind should shut the fuck up.

"We did tell him about how you went ape shit on us, you know," Eito replied with a wry smile. "He thinks last night scared you because we lost Mum and Dad, so you didn't want to lose someone else – even if it was just Yamato."

Yamato. Taichi didn't like that last bit so he chose to ignore it, and processed the other information. To be honest, he hadn't even thought about their parents – but he appreciated the fact that Hideki had tried to understand and give reason for his actions. Actually, it was a good cover, so if Hideki and the others wanted to believe that was the reason he got so fired up, it was fine with him.

"Come on, we're going to be late," Eito then prompted for them to start walking again, which they did – this time in fairly comfortable silence; a little bit of ice had been broken.

They had walked most of their journey already though, so it didn't take long for their high school to come into view.

Taichi squinted a little; was that Ken hanging around the front –  _again_?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> * Yamato was shown to be a strong swimmer in episode three of Digimon Adventure, and his Digimon Adventure 02 Drama CD "Tegami ~Letter~" takes place at the beach where he's inspired to write the TEEN-AGE WOLVES's "Tobira ~Door~". I don't think making him a swimmer requires much of an imagination stretch. I also find it odd when people write about him being against sports because, if anything, the series showed that he liked sports. Digimon Adventure, episode sixteen: he happily tries to teach the digimon how to play soccer – which, gasp, means he actually knows how to play it. But then Taichi, of all people, scolds him. (Oh, also, Yamato isn't obsessed about his hair in any way – the hot springs scene where Tai jumps in and Matt says something like "watch the hair", he's actually just scolding Taichi for rudely jumping in. Mentioning this in case people are like "Yamato wouldn't want to ruin his hair in water!" . . . Yamato doesn't care.) Yamato's official Japanese profile also states that he excels at sports. Really. It does.
> 
> * Yamato likes planes because I think it's more logical for him to want to be a pilot first before deciding to become an astronaut – 99% of astronauts come from the military (the navy or the air force). Yamato's name is a very patriotic name for boys in Japan. Coincidentally, being an astronaut requires strong swimming skills and for the applicant to be in perfect physical shape (as does the military). (And the Japanese Navy's biggest battleship in WWII was also named Yamato . . . I think it's pretty obvious Yamato was set up for a career as a naval aviator – which leads to his becoming an astronaut.)
> 
> * Taichi's favourite subjects are economics (I assume the more political side, as Digimon Adventure 02 implied that he sucked at maths) and political science because they're the building blocks for a diplomat. It suits him because it's a position of leadership (the world is run by politicians), requires him to be a good charismatic speaker whom people will go along with, and it also takes him on "adventures" (going from country to country).


	5. Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap – three years. Is anyone still following this? It'll probably be best to go over and read the previous four chapters as a reminder, eh? ;) (I know I had to . . . numerous times over, haha.)
> 
> I know this story is a bit out there, and most people probably wouldn't want to be seen reviewing a story like this – which makes me appreciate those who actually do review a whole lot more (or those who have sent their thoughts via PM). :) THANK YOU. :)
> 
> I'll answer some questions that will hopefully be beneficial to everyone:
> 
> Saxor, gosh, you write the longest reviews! ^_^ The bad news is that the Kenato is indeed doomed (sorry!) – but the good news is Yamato won't be thinking of Ken as just using him for sexual pleasures. He'll be thinking along those lines in regards to Taichi later on, though (yay he has his own brain!). Bigfan!, you're right regarding Taichi abusing his power over Yamato. ;) We haven't seen the last of arsehole!Taichi – in fact, I'm pretty certain he'll be an arse . . . the chapter after the next, hehe. ^^; Also, regarding how I don't go very deep into Yamato's mind: I've chosen to exclude a lot of Yamato's thoughts (though this chapter does see a bit more than usual from him), seeing as the Taito is currently one-sided. I can't wait for it to become mutual, because then the actual Taito will have started! :) Almost, there's a bit of jealous!Taichi in this chapter – though he gets rather explosive two chapters later (tying in with arsehole!Taichi). XD; Koji4ever, writing Yamato as timid is tough for me, too. ;) I always have to remind myself that he's an utterly abused child. But he should grow a bit of a backbone as the story progresses – hopefully I don't crap that up. XD; I actually wrote Rough Trade because the Yamato there has a backbone that this Yamato will never have. XD; YAJJ, I wasn't planning on having either Takeru or Hikari show up . . . but I've since changed my mind about Takeru, and he pops up here (potentially altering the plot quite a bit . . .). Hikari, however, still doesn't (and won't) exist. Sorry. :( This is AU, and most of the Chosen won't be here unless they further the plot. As of right now, the only other Chosen I can see popping up might be Jou . . . maybe Koushirou. Draquete Ackles Felton, thank you for the huge review. I actually put off writing a Taito for five years prior to writing this because I wasn't sure people would like a story like this . . . so I'm very glad people do in fact like it. ;) I will try my best to finish this story, but it'll take a long time – at the moment, I estimate at least a total of fifteen chapters . . . and it took me three years just to get the fifth one out. =|
> 
> And I would just like to add how surprised I am that there are quite a few people who actually want this to end Kenato. I totally didn't see that coming, haha. I will try to flesh the Kenato out a bit more, but sadly for some, the relationship is rather short-lived. :(
> 
> (I actually let my best friend read this story and she said to me: "It's obvious Yamato is going to end up with Ken" . . . and then when I told her Yamato actually ends up with Taichi, she was like ". . . O_O =| BUT THEY'RE BROTHERS!" Hahaha.)
> 
> Oh, please check out XY: Beginnings if you haven't already – it's supplementary reading! :)
> 
> Edit: Revised on 13 March 2012.

Taichi exited the social science staffroom in a hurry, forcing Daisuke, who had been waiting for him outside the door, to pick up his pace. The final bell had rung about fifteen minutes ago, and Taichi hoped Yamato was waiting for him at the front gates like he'd said he would, and hadn't walked off just because he was late.

"Did Miss Ito give you detention?" the shorter brunet asked, referring to Taichi's economics teacher. She had told Taichi to see her in the staffroom after school.

"Nah, just a friendly warning," Taichi replied, as the two made their way through the corridors. "She wanted to make sure that not doing my homework doesn't become a trend throughout the year. I am her star student, after all."

"And so modest, too," Daisuke joked – even though he was far from modest himself. "Why do you like all that political economy mumbo jumbo anyway?" Then he grinned. "It has to be 'cause Miss Ito's hot, right?"

Miss Ito was hot? Who knew. Not Taichi. Well, he guessed she was . . .  _attractive_  – for a woman. But – well . . . not his type. He forced a smile. "Duh."

Daisuke smirked. "You reckon she'll give you the time of day?"

"When she sees my cock," Taichi smiled widely, playing along, "she'll wonder why she ever wasted her time with average-dicked dudes."

Daisuke, having an average dick himself, playfully shoved his friend. "Dude, when girls pull down your pants, they run the fuck away from you. Yagami dicks are not normal."

The two shared a laugh as they stepped out into the open air, walking on the pathway parallel to another building that swerved around to freedom. Taichi started rounding the corner that actually led to the front gates, but stopped as he saw not only Yamato, but Ken too, just up ahead.

He frowned and voiced what he was thinking. "What's up with Ken?"

Daisuke had stopped when Taichi had, and gave his friend a quizzical look. "What's up with him?"

"He's always around Yamato. I mean, he was with him yesterday at lunch, and he was at the front gates this morning too – waiting for him, probably. And he wasn't with us at recess and lunch today . . ." Taichi trailed off. He would've liked to have been with Yamato during those breaks, but he thought he should put  _some_  distance between them, seeing as Eito was getting kind of suspicious. Now, if only  _Ken_  felt the same way.

"I don't know," Daisuke mused, giving a shrug of his shoulders. And then, seemingly from out of nowhere to Taichi, "Maybe he likes him."

"What?" Taichi asked, surprised. Then he gave Daisuke an odd look as he fully processed that speculation. "Seriously, the things that come out of your mouth . . ."  _Was_  Ken gay?

"What?" Daisuke defended himself. "I mean – he kinda looks like he sucks cock, don't you think?"

At that, Taichi gave him an incredulous look. "How does someone  _look_  like they suck cock, Daisuke? Did you see him sucking a cock-shaped lollipop or something?"

"Ha ha," Daisuke remarked dryly, then shrugged. "I dunno. I think he's a cool dude and all – love him in a non-gay way – but it's a little weird that he's never talked to me about girls, you know? Plus, he's a pretty boy, isn't he? A kinda girly one . . ."

Taichi had to concede that Ken was attractive – probably more attractive than  _he_  was, admittedly. But Ken wasn't his type; like Daisuke said, he was pretty girly and, well . . . androgynous. Ken really should cut his hair or something. OK, maybe he was being a tad bit mean, because if Ken  _was_  gay then that meant – well, that meant the guy was hitting on his  _goddamn_   _little brother_.

_Someone_  was going to get their arse kicked.

Taichi frowned. "But you can't say someone's gay because they're . . .  _pretty_." He didn't want that to be the case, nor did he know why he was so against Ken being gay exactly – competition?  _What the fuck._

Apparently, though Taichi's rational and logical mind knew that if Yamato was straight, it meant that he couldn't go after him (. . . as though incest wasn't an issue, either) – his penis thought differently.  _Very_  differently.

"Course not," Daisuke agreed. "Hey, Yamato's a pretty boy and he's not gay. But Ken and I are pretty good friends, almost like me and you, man. I just get the feeling that he might be gay. We never did see a girl with him on Monday, did we?"

All Taichi processed was:  _Yamato_.  _Not_.  _Gay_.

But what did Daisuke and his pea-sized brain know, anyway? Well, a lot more than  _he_  did, apparently – Daisuke might actually be right about Ken, if he actually really thought about it. "Why don't you think Yamato's gay?" Taichi found himself asking. Yamato had feminine facial features; like a male model. And like male models, he also had a certain quiet masculinity about him. Taichi found that paradox hot, personally –

_OK. Stop._

Daisuke looked at him in surprise. "What, you mean he is?"

_I hope – goddamnit_. "No," Taichi answered. "But what about him makes you think he's not?"

Daisuke shrugged. "I just can't see him with anyone. Boy  _or_  girl."

"So . . . you think he's . . . asexual?" Taichi queried sceptically. Wow, if only Daisuke knew just  _how_  sexual Yamato was . . .

"I'm just saying," Daisuke shrugged again, looking over at the blond in question. "Hey, maybe he's on drugs."

" _What?_ " Taichi said at the change of direction.

"Yeah, in health class we learnt that some drugs make people anti-social," Daisuke replied, unruffled. "And do you remember Jun's ex? He started doing drugs and now he's, like, a rake."

"Yamato isn't on drugs," Taichi told him firmly. He wasn't  _actively_  against a lot of things, because it felt preachy and goody two shoes-ish, but drug use was definitely one thing he was  _well_  against, being athletic and all. He didn't understand why people did drugs, really; why would anyone want to lose all their energy and look like they hadn't eaten in years?

"How do you know? It's not like he'd tell you – he knows you'd beat him up," Daisuke retorted. "And it fits, you know? He's weird around people. And, you know, compared to you and Eito, he's a little  _too_  thin . . ."

_That happens when you don't eat enough for five years_ , Taichi thought. Instead, he voiced, "It's not drugs. It's just puberty stretching out his body to catch up to his height. He'll fill out properly when he's done." At least he  _hoped_  he'd figure out a way to supply Yamato with food on a regular basis.

"Well, that makes sense," Daisuke admitted. "I guess it's just a little weird seeing him . . . I dunno – hollow-ish? Back in elementary school, he was always one of the biggest kids in his grade."

Well, back then Yamato ate normally just like them. It was only treats like junk food or expensive crap that their father had restricted from him, unless he had been 'good'. But that hadn't seemed to bother Yamato much – if Taichi recalled correctly, Yamato actually  _liked_  vegetables. Gross.

"I guess it is because he's so tall that he looks sort of stretched," Daisuke continued. "If he was shorter he'd look less thin."

"Talking about me?" interrupted a new voice; it was Sho Tanaka, captain of the soccer team. He was also the tallest person in the school, standing at an impressive six foot five – and also ridiculously skinny, a la England's international soccer player, Peter Crouch.

"Nah, Sho," Daisuke replied, then looked over at Yamato to indicate him, "Taichi's younger brother."

"There's another Yagami?" Sho snorted, following Daisuke's gaze. "Shit, he's blond."

"How'd the fuck that happen?" Taichi remarked sarcastically. It was no secret that he and Sho didn't exactly get along. Sometimes Eito would take jabs at Sho on his behalf, like when he told Sho he could use someone with his height on the football team – only Sho would probably break like a twig during a tackle. Needless to say, Sho didn't like Eito much, either.

Sho threw Taichi a look of irritation, before recovering with a smirk. "Don't forget about our first soccer practice of the year tomorrow. After all, you need all the help you can get if you want my captaincy  _next_  year."

Taichi resisted the urge to punch him. "Unlike you, Tanaka, soccer isn't my entire life – yet I'm  _still_  only a fraction behind you on the field." He only ran once a week on top of running during the twice-a-week soccer practice they usually had – but Sho also ran  _every single day._

"The point, Yagami," Sho said coldly, "is that you  _are_  behind me." He then broke out into a mocking smile. "So don't be late tomorrow. Bye,  _girls_." He walked off towards the front gates.

"I could take him," Taichi glared at Sho's retreating back.

"Well, he is freakishly tall – but yeah, probably," Daisuke smirked a little. "But, dude, why are we standing here for?"

"'Cause of Ken," Taichi replied, glancing over at the black-haired teenager in question, standing with his brother – and  _another_  blond, who wasn't there a moment ago. "Hey, who's that?"

"New guy in Ken's class, I think," Daisuke replied, then brought up the reason why he'd waited for Taichi in the first place. "So are you coming over to my place, or what?"

Taichi flicked his eyes back to friend. "Nah, not today."

"You mean I waited for you for nothing?" Daisuke exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air in exasperation.

"Well no one asked you to, man," Taichi smirked, before he started moving towards the front gates.

"You could've told me that at lunch or something!" Daisuke whined, grudgingly following his friend.

* * *

Yamato stood waiting next to the front gates for Taichi, watching aimlessly as other students poured out of the school – one of whom was Eito, with his arm around some random girl.

Eito was always with some random girl – tonnes of them. His brother had a whole collection of female clothing left over by the various girls he had sex with; sometimes Eito would even make him put some on for a fuck – which Yamato had mixed feelings about. On the one hand, he found it a lot more embarrassing than usual, but on the other hand . . . it was some of the best sex he'd ever experienced, as embarrassing as it was to admit. Eito, like Hideki and Toru, normally fucked him hard with the intention of hurting him, but whenever he was made to wear female clothing, he knew Eito was pretending he was some girl. Unsurprisingly, Eito treated girls a lot better during sex than he normally did Yamato.

Yamato actually  _liked_  having sex with Eito during those times.

He blushed faintly at the thought as Eito walked past him with his latest 'girlfriend'. In typical fashion, his brother didn't even acknowledge him; Yamato hadn't expected him to, of course, but he still felt an all too familiar dull ache. It was as though he was invisible, and the only times he seemed to appear on his brothers' radars were when it suited their needs for him to – like their apparent need to hurt him.

He shook his head to rid his mind of potentially bad thoughts about his brothers. They had brought him up and taken care of him – something his own mother hadn't wanted to do. How could he really think badly of them when they had stepped in and raised him, even – and  _especially_ – when it had been  _his_  fault that  _they_  didn't have a mother, either? That their father had gotten sick? He owed them a lot, and if punishing him relieved some of  _their_  hurt, even if he didn't like it (and a lot of the time -  _most_  of the time - he thought they went too far) – well, he'd just have to put up with it until they stopped hurting and forgave him. That was the right thing to do – the  _least_  he could do. He certainly couldn't bring their mother or father back . . .

Or his own mother.

Despite the fact that she obviously hadn't wanted him, he still sometimes thought about her: who she was, where she was, how she was . . . if she still lived by her decision sixteen years ago, or if she'd changed her mind. Sometimes, he'd let his mind think that she  _had_  changed her mind - that she'd realised she made a mistake, and she was coming to get him . . .

And then he'd feel terrible - like he was betraying his brothers for thinking that way.

"Hey."

Yamato turned around at the greeting that interrupted his thoughts and, upon seeing Ken, broke out into a genuine smile. "Hello." If he let himself dream for a bit, the older boy actually seemed to want to be his  _friend_ – he had willingly spent both recess and lunch with him today.

"We've got to stop meeting like this," Ken returned, smiling widely. "People might think there's something going on between us."

Yamato blushed a little, but remained smiling – which Ken took as a  _very_  positive sign. Maybe now was the right time? He took a deep breath. "Listen Yamato," he began, denoting a change of subject. His voice had gotten a little more serious. "I was thinking . . . do you want to come over to my apartment today?"

Yamato blinked, surprised by the invitation – from a  _male_. "Your . . . apartment?" He'd never had a friend invite him over before – mostly because he'd never had a friend, really.

"Yeah," Ken replied, nodding. "Well, actually, my brother's apartment. I live with my parents but my older brother lives nearby by himself, but I have a room there too, and Osamu – my brother – gives me more freedom than my parents do, you know?" Crap, he'd rambled. A  _room_?

_Way to be suggestive, Ken_.

But Yamato didn't seem to think anything of it. Instead, he'd just thought that  _his_  brothers certainly didn't give him freedom, so unlike Ken, he  _didn't_  know. But he nodded anyway.

"So . . .?" Ken looked at Yamato imploringly, awaiting his answer.

Yamato sadly gave him an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I can't . . . I'm waiting for Taichi. I have to go home."

_Rejected_.

"Oh," Ken's smile faltered a little, but he tried not to show too much of his disappointment. "Well, that's OK." So Yamato wasn't interested in him after all. That  _sucked_  – a lot more than he'd anticipated, actually.

Yamato bit his lip – he'd never seen Ken sad before. Had he hurt his friend's feelings? "Maybe . . . tomorrow?" he suggested instead. He didn't know for sure if he'd be allowed to go – whether or not Taichi, or one of his other brothers, would need him home before six – but he wanted Ken to return to being happy.

Ken's entire face lit up. "Really? You'll come over . . . tomorrow?" He had to make sure Yamato wasn't just playing around – he was sure the younger boy had just used an excuse about going home because he wasn't interested in him.

But Yamato gave him a smile and a nod. "Yeah . . . um, unless something important comes up . . ." He'd added that just in case he had to tell Ken he couldn't go after all.

"That's fine," Ken grinned, ecstatic at the real possibility that Yamato might like him back after all. He didn't have a lot of experience with this ('this' being a relationship) – and by 'a lot', he meant 'none'. It was to be expected when one was in the closet. But it seemed like Yamato was new to dating too, and Ken liked the idea that they could be each others' first boyfriends – maybe even high school sweethearts.

OK, he was really getting ahead of himself – Yamato hadn't even gone to his (brother's) apartment yet. But Yamato had just made his day by accepting his invitation – he couldn't wipe the grin off his face if he'd tried. In fact, he didn't even mind when he noticed a new classmate of his coming towards them - which meant said classmate was going to infringe on his time with Yamato, which he usually wouldn't like - at all. But it didn't really bother him this time - not on the current high he was on.

"Hi Ken," his classmate, a tall blond boy, greeted when he reached them.

"Takeru, hey," Ken greeted back, still grinning about his new development with Yamato - whom he naturally introduced. "This is Yamato."  _Possibly my future boyfriend_. If he was a schoolgirl, he possibly might have giggled. "Yamato, this is Takeru – he's in my class."

The two blonds exchanged 'Hellos', though Ken noticed that Yamato seemed to retreat back into his shell in the presence of someone new. It gave him a good idea of how far he'd come with Yamato in just a few days though – the blond was noticeably more relaxed, comfortable, and less shy around him. He liked that.

"Man, was that maths quiz a killer or what?" Takeru remarked, shaking his head – obviously referencing a class test from earlier in the day.

Ken nodded in agreement. "Yeah, it surprisingly was – I'd be lucky if I managed over 90."

Takeru raised his eyebrows. "Whoa," he laughed. "I was thinking more like 70 for myself."

Ken grinned. "Sometimes I forget I'm an overachiever to most people." He elbowed Yamato. "I bet  _you'd_  have done well in it, though." He'd found through their conversations that Yamato was something of a mathematician.

Yamato blushed lightly and shrugged modestly, and simply smiled at Ken.

"I'm new here," Takeru spoke up for Yamato's benefit, trying to get the other blond to talk to him so he'd be more comfortable – because it didn't seem like he was. "I just transferred here for the new school year from Sangenjaya. Are you new too?" He'd asked that question because the other blond seemed awfully shy and quiet – possibly attributed to not knowing many people?

But Yamato shook his head. "No." He'd lived in Odaiba his entire life – but then, his response wasn't really correct. "Um . . . yes." He reddened a little, seemingly embarrassed for stumbling. "I'm a first-year, so . . . this is my first time here, but I still . . . I mean, I've always lived here . . ."

Takeru laughed, though his eyes weren't unkind. "I get it, don't worry."

"Hey, hey, Kenny boy!" a hyper voice then interrupted them. It belonged to Daisuke, who slapped Ken's shoulders in greeting, as he and Taichi joined them in a small circle. "What's happenin'?"

"I was making a new friend," Takeru had answered before Ken could, indicating Yamato, who seemed surprised. The new blond was obviously not shy. "I'm Takeru. I'm in Ken's class."

"I'm Daisuke, and this is Taichi," the brunet returned. "We're  _not_  in Ken's class." They all laughed at that – well, Yamato just smiled a little.

The first thing Taichi noticed about the new kid was that he was tall – he was slightly taller than Ken, slightly shorter than Yamato. He was also . . . well, good-looking. Yeah, Takeru was definitely good-looking – but in an ordinary, almost dull sort of way. 'Cute' probably summed him up. Not like Yamato – who was _gorgeous_  . . .

Now that Taichi had really allowed himself to explore the  _possibility_  that he might be gay, he'd been, well,  _considering_  the looks of other guys throughout the day; that meant all the guys in his class, all the guys he played soccer with – heck, even his male  _teachers_. He had come to the following conclusions, among many others: that Daisuke was average-looking at best, if a bit on the side of ugly; that his twenty-something year old PE teacher was actually pretty hot; and that even fucking  _Sho_  wasn't bad-looking, to his own horror.

And Taichi was  _sure_  he'd never looked twice at other guys' looks before – at least not while being so  _aware_  of it. He honestly didn't know whether he liked it or not. He didn't  _want_ to like it, because being straight was . . . the right thing to be. But at the same time, he hadn't _minded_ looking at all those guys . . .

And, well, there was  _one_  guy who he'd  _always_  looked at . . .

"You play any sport?" Daisuke asked Takeru, snapping Taichi out of his thoughts. No one was surprised by his question – Daisuke didn't seem to care about anything other than sports and his friends.

"Yeah," Taichi added, deciding to contribute to the conversation so as not to appear any 'different' than he normally did when he  _wasn't_  thinking about taboo things. "You have a good build." He'd noticed the blond had pretty toned arms – especially considering he was just a second-year like them.

Takeru smiled. "Thanks. I hit the gym every now and then, but no, I don't play. I used to play basketball back in junior high, but quit for more time to get serious about what I want to do after I graduate. I write."

"You write?" Daisuke looked dumbfounded.

"Yeah, for the school newspaper. Back in my old school, anyway. I'm trying to get a position here now."

Daisuke shot Taichi a look as if to say 'who would ditch sports for writing?', and Taichi just gave a short laugh.

"That's cool, man," Taichi told Takeru. "I probably should start thinking about what I want to do after high school, too."

"Well,  _my_  future's mapped out," Ken offered, to no one's surprise.

Then Daisuke started talking about his future plans of opening a worldwide noodle cart, and Ken just couldn't take him seriously. He looked over at Yamato, who seemed to be listening intently to Daisuke – the brunet was now going on about all the different kinds of noodles he'd sell.

Ken tuned him out and, instead, thought for about the fiftieth time that day how good Yamato managed to look in his school uniform, with his jacket buttoned up and (presumably) all the buttons on his shirt underneath done up as well, except for the one at the very top. Most guys just left their jackets fully opened and their shirts untucked, looking sloppy – but Yamato looked refined and elegant with the way he wore his uniform, contrasting with how innocent - or just not  _worldly_  - his face and personality actually came off. Yamato was such an alluring contradiction, Ken thought. And he looked even more adorable because his attire – though styled for elegance – actually seemed dated, so it was almost like a little boy went into an old clothes shop to attempt to dress himself as a prince, working with what he could afford. It made Ken smile.

Curious, he looked over at Yamato's brother to compare how he presented himself – but was surprised by how noticeably different their attires were, now that he was really looking at them side-by-side. Yamato's clothes looked especially well-worn compared to the brunet's, and his school bag was obviously a few years old, at least. But Taichi's uniform, including his school bag and shoes, looked brand new. Ken couldn't help but think that was strange – even if Yamato was the youngest and got hand-me-downs, there was no reason why Taichi would get new clothes and Yamato didn't; there were older Yagamis, after all.

The difference bugged Ken a little, but he figured he was just being obsessive about Yamato. If he pulled back and looked at the bigger picture, the matter seemed so insignificant, so he decided against bringing it up. Maybe Yamato didn't mind wearing old school clothes, but Taichi did, and had argued against it with his eldest brother? He knew how good the brunet was at getting his way.

The boys' discussion continued on for another ten minutes or so, switching from one mindless topic to another, until Takeru directed a question to the only person who hadn't contributed to the conversation. "You don't talk much, do you?" he asked Yamato, though not unkindly.

"He's just really shy," Ken spoke up in the younger blond's defence, giving Yamato a warm smile, who returned it.

Taichi's eyes narrowed ever so slightly at the exchange – he just felt that  _he_  should've been the one to say that. He was Yamato's freaking brother, after all.

"I'm really friendly," Takeru told the other blond - as though it hadn't been more than obvious to everyone during their conversations. "I don't bite, honest. Do you play any sports?" He was just attempting to get the kid to talk without lame questions like 'what's your favourite colour?'.

"No," Taichi answered for his brother, as though he was competing with Ken to answer Yamato's questions for him. He knew it was childish, and it didn't help that when he'd answered he had looked straight at Ken – who had just raised his eyebrows at him.

Yamato opened his mouth a little. "I used to swim . . ." he said quietly, surprising everyone. His eyes landed on Taichi, and he was reminded of the times his brothers had taunted him for it – so maybe he shouldn't have brought it up . . .

"Yeah, like, in elementary school," Taichi huffed unimpressively. "That doesn't count, Yamato." He only realised what he'd said had felt like an attack when Yamato looked to the ground dejectedly.  _Way to go, Taichi_.

"I think that's awesome," Ken spoke up, defending Yamato and again making Taichi feel irritated.

_Great, Ken's getting brownie points left and right._

"Yeah, that's cool," Takeru agreed. "I can't even swim." He laughed. "Were you any good at it?"

Yamato looked back up and nodded, the corners of his mouth curving into a small smile. "I usually came first in the 100 and 200 metre freestyle." Those were the events he was most proud of – from first grade to fifth grade, he'd managed to out-swim most of his competing classmates. That was until their father died, and Hideki banned Yamato's involvement in swimming because he 'enjoyed it too much'.

"Hey that's really good Yamato," Ken said, obviously impressed. "Well done."

"Thanks," Yamato gave him another smile. He wasn't used to being praised; now, not only Ken, but the new guy - Takeru - were actually making him feel good about himself. And it felt  _really_  good.

Taichi hated it. Yamato smiled too often at Ken, he decided. The blond had just given Taichi a half-smile  _once_  yesterday. "It was elementary school," he interjected. "He probably can't swim half as well now. There's a reason he didn't continue it into junior high."  _Because Hideki wouldn't let him_. Taichi knew he was hurting Yamato's feelings even further, but the desire to throw down whatever Ken said made him spit that out.

"Why are you dissing him?" Takeru asked. He'd only just met these guys (other than Ken, who he'd only met a few days prior), and though he liked all of them, it just seemed a little too much like Taichi was a big fish picking on a silent little fish.

Daisuke, who took almost nothing seriously, just gave an easy chuckle and said, "Taichi's his big brother. It's his job to diss him."

"Really?" Takeru's eyebrows rose, glancing from Taichi to Yamato and back again. "I think I look more like Yamato's brother than you do, Taichi."

Taichi looked at the two blonds in succession. They did have similar colouring - blond hair, blue eyes, light skin. "That's true," he agreed, nodding his head. "But too bad – he's  _my_  brother, not yours."

He was surprised when he looked at Yamato and found a small smile on his lips.

_Score_.

* * *

Finally, after everyone went their separate ways, Taichi and Yamato were on their way home together – but in awkward silence. Now that they were actually alone like Taichi had wanted, he still didn't know what to say to the blond. What could he say to a brother he barely knew? Likewise, Yamato was still unsure of Taichi's agenda in being . . . civil to him. He appreciated all of Taichi's acts of kindness towards him, but the brunet still had a rather sharp tongue towards him sometimes - that conversation with his friends just now proved it. He really didn't know what Taichi was thinking or doing in being so up-and-down. But there wasn't anything he could do to find out, short of actually asking Taichi. And like that was going to happen – Yamato was still scared of him, even with his recent 'good' intentions.

So the brothers continued walking in silence. But they were about half way home when a voice from behind called out to them.

"Yo, wait up!"

Taichi and Yamato both turned around. It was Ryu. The third-year boy came to a short stop in front of them.

"Taichi," Ryu greeted the brunet first, before landing lecherous eyes on the blond. " _Yamato_."

Taichi did not like that. "Ryu, right?" he asked, just to get the older teen's gaze away from his brother. He knew who he was – there were rumours that he was gay, but no one had ever dared asked him or called him out on it because of how muscular he was.

Ryu nodded in the affirmative, though he felt slighted because he knew Taichi knew who he was – he'd been over the Yagamis on several occasions throughout the years, and he was Eito's friend. So he gave a dry chuckle, and told the brunet 'jokingly', "You know, you look fugly next to your brother."

Taichi's eyes narrowed, and he opened his mouth to insult Ryu –

"No he doesn't," Yamato spoke up, quietly, for the first time during their walk home.

Taichi looked at Yamato – had the blond just called him good-looking? He was sure that statement was, like, saying he was hot by default – not that Taichi should care.

Except he did.

"Whatever," Ryu retorted. He hadn't actually managed to fist-fuck Yamato yesterday – the blond had squirmed too much and started bleeding. Maybe it was because they needed lube? Probably. He had managed to stick five fingers in Yamato up to his middle knuckles, but couldn't push through to his base knuckles, and then the bell had rung – so he didn't do shit, really. "Anyway, I have 1,000 yen," Ryu said, fully expecting the brunet to know what he was talking about.

Taichi did know, but feigned being clueless – Eito handled this most of the time, not him. "Huh?"

Ryu looked around, as though checking to see if anyone could see or hear them. They were alone. He turned his gaze back to Taichi. "I wanna fuck him," he said in a low voice, implying Yamato.

Taichi's ever literate response? "Fuck off."

"What?" Ryu retorted, not expecting that at all. "Eito would let me. I have the cash, man. And  _he_ –" Ryu indicated Yamato by stepping closer to the blond and grabbing his cock through his pants, "– wants it. Don't you, bitch?" Ryu's hand rubbed and massaged the outline of Yamato's package, while Yamato just stared at a spot on the ground.

Taichi was getting really annoyed. First at Ryu for calling Yamato a bitch, and again at the bastard for currently groping his brother – but he was also annoyed at Yamato for  _letting the guy grope him_. Why didn't the blond just push Ryu off? Did he  _like_  it?

Maybe he  _was_  a bitch . . .

_That's not fair_ , a voice in Taichi's head told him. He mentally punched himself.  _Fuck you're a jerk_. Of course Yamato wouldn't do anything – he was  _allowed_  to be violated. Taichi's blood boiled – it was as though it just finally dawned on him that Yamato didn't have ownership of his  _own_  body parts. (Though, really, Taichi  _knew_  – he just never really thought about it before.)

"Fuck.  _Off_ ," Taichi spat venomously, roughly shoving Ryu off of Yamato hard enough to make him lose his footing and fall to the ground. "Don't touch him."

Ryu quickly got back onto his feet, looking visibly pissed off. But he didn't particularly want to start a fight with Eito's kid brother, so he forced himself to contain his anger. "What gives, man?" he exclaimed, instead of throwing a punch – which is what he would have done if it had been anyone else.

"You're not going to fuck him," Taichi replied coldly. "So you might as well fuck off."

"No, I  _am_  going to fuck him because I have 1,000 yen," Ryu retorted, not backing down. He'd just stolen the money from a scared first-year after school, just for that exact purpose. "I'll fucking call your brothers and you're going to be looking on as the bitch blows me, arsehole."

Taichi was sure that was some form of power play – just who did this guy think he was? Taichi had more power than he did when it came to Yamato, surely – but Ryu thinks he can go over his head, to his brothers, to get his way? Taichi's anger was nearing its limits. He stepped forward to stand right up close to Ryu.

Taichi was tall at six foot, and easily towered over the older boy, who must've been half a foot shorter than him, at least. He smirked. "I bet you could give Yamato a blow job standing up," he taunted.

Ryu did not like that. "Fuck you, Yagami. I don't give a shit if you're Eito's brother, I'll kick your fucking arse."

"Yeah?" Taichi asked, unintimidated, before quickly pulling his arm back and throwing the first punch - catching Ryu by surprise.

Yamato watched helplessly as Ryu quickly retaliated by tackling Taichi to the ground; he wasn't sure what he should – or  _could_  – do. Taichi was his brother, but Ryu was also like an authority figure to him as well – it was like seeing Toru and Eito get into a fight, almost.

He continued to watch with concern as Taichi tried to get Ryu off of him by trying to land some punches, but Ryu very obviously had the upper hand – the older boy outweighed his brother, and was doing a good job of defending himself.

_Why is Taichi doing this?_  Yamato wondered, panicked. Ryu had the money to fuck him - so why didn't Taichi just let him? Why did he punch Ryu over it? He was so confused . . . but  _so_  appreciative of Taichi - whatever his reasons.

A minute into the fight and Yamato decided he'd try to get Ryu off of Taichi – he grabbed onto Ryu's shirt and started pulling at him, repeating for him to stop.

Ryu punched Taichi in the ribs, just hard enough to get the wind knocked out of him for a few moments – he didn't want to really injure the kid seriously, because he was still Eito's brother after all. However, though Yamato was Eito's brother too, he obviously didn't  _matter_  – and as the blond had begun to pull at Ryu's shirt, he was becoming an annoyance.

So Ryu quickly turned around and landed a direct, forceful punch to Yamato's head, not bothering to only exert half of his strength like he'd been doing with Taichi – the blond fell to the ground, limp.

Ryu turned his attention back to the brunet who had just recovered from his punch, only to get a punch in return from the kid, causing his lip to bleed profusely. Ryu was getting tired of this – but he had to give it to Taichi, he was a good fighter and wasn't afraid to go up against guys bigger than him. In fact, the runt had actually managed to flip their positions now – how he did it, Ryu had no idea. But he didn't intend for him to keep it.

A few moments later, Ryu had flipped them back the other way around, and he was just about to smash in Taichi's face when –

"What the fuck do you think you're doing!"

Before Ryu even registered who that was, he found himself forcefully shoved off of Taichi, hard enough to have his hands, arms and knees scrape along the asphalt some distance before he stopped. When he looked back to see who it was, he saw Eito looking Taichi over like a mother would her child.

Then Eito's eyes made contact with Ryu's – and he was pissed off, no doubt.

"What. The. Fuck?" Eito growled at him.

Ryu didn't answer right away – he contemplated his choices. He knew that he could  _probably_  beat Eito in a fight, but Eito had something that Ryu didn't have – status. Eito was literally on top of the social ladder at Odaiba High, and he controlled a lot of the jocks – especially those in the football and baseball teams. Ryu didn't play any sports, didn't have any teammates or real friends, and though he was more muscular than the so-called "jocks" (he practically lived at the gym), they outnumbered him. If he messed with Eito, he was messing with the entire school. It would be a suicidal move. So, he forced himself to calm down.

"Eito, man, I'm sorry," he apologised, though he didn't actually mean it. "I just lost my temper, dude."

"So you hit my fucking little brother?" Eito retorted, his voice like ice on fire.

"He threw the first punch, man," Ryu said defensively.

Eito didn't seem to give a shit, however. "You don't hit Taichi. Ever." He stared Ryu down, as though challenging him to say otherwise.

But Ryu nodded in defeat. "You're right," he said, playing nice to stay on Eito's good side. "I'm sorry, dude."

Eito didn't respond to that, but continued to glare at the other boy. Ryu eventually got the idea, got up, and started walking away. He'd explain what happened another day when Eito cooled down some.

Eito turned his attention back to Taichi. "Are you OK?" he asked, though he'd checked on all the injuries he could see and they weren't that bad, all things considered. Taichi had a bruise on his left cheek, a bump on the back of his head, another rather large bruise on his ribs, and just small cuts and scrapes on his hands and arms from contact with the ground. He could've been worst off though - Taichi was lucky that Eito had been on his way home from dropping a girl off at her place, otherwise he'd have been home already and not seen the fight to stop it.

Taichi nodded, "Yeah." He'd finally got all his bearings together, but shook his head one last time, as if to recover from a possible mild concussion. "I'm fine," he asserted, before he seemed to remember the reason _for_  the fight . . .

Yamato was sprawled out on the ground before him, just behind Eito, who'd been unintentionally concealing the blond from Taichi's view as he'd knelt down in front of him.

"Is he OK?" Taichi asked, eyes on Yamato.

Eito followed Taichi's gaze and looked over his shoulder at the blond. He turned his attention back to Taichi and shrugged, "I don't know."

Taichi didn't say anything for a few seconds, before shuffling past Eito on his hands and knees to reach Yamato. There didn't seem to be any fresh bruises on Yamato's face, so Taichi ran a hand through his hair instead, and sure enough, he found a growing lump on the right side of Yamato's head, where Ryu had obviously hit him.

Eito watched silently – and curiously – as Taichi began rubbing Yamato's injured head, unsure of why his brother was acting the way he was. There was an uncomfortable atmosphere that hung in the air. Eito then noticed that there were several coins littered on the pavement, and just for an excuse to do something, he began quietly collecting them.

When he was done, he held the coins out for Taichi to take. "Here."

But Taichi shook his head. "They're Yamato's," he responded. The coins had obviously fallen out of Yamato's pocket during the scuffle.

". . . Really." The surprise in Eito's voice was obvious.

It was only then that Taichi realised he'd answered without thinking. _Shit_. Of course – Yamato shouldn't have anywhere near that much money . . .

Taichi raked his brain for an excuse, for anything to say – but Eito simply shoved the coins into Yamato's pocket, before proceeding to scoop the blond up, cradling him in his arms. "Let's go."

Taichi, still on the ground, looked up at his brother. He didn't . . . understand. Eito was letting something that was pretty fucking significant go, not to mention the fact that he was actually carrying Yamato, prepared to take him home. Taichi was  _sure_  that Eito was just going to tell him to leave Yamato there on the pavement – that the blond could get home himself when he came to. He'd done it before, like when their friends got a bit rowdy somewhere, like at a park or field, and they'd all assault Yamato for 'fun' and just leave him there as they went off to get even more drunk or whatever. It wasn't important to take Yamato back.

So for Eito to do that . . .

Taichi didn't know what to think.

Except that he was grateful.

* * *

Hiroaki Ishida looked at the number on the apartment door, and back at the creased piece of paper in his hand. Scrawled on it was the address of the apartment he was currently standing in front of, as well as a contact number, and the message 'REALLY GOOD ARSE' in big bold letters, as though the guy he'd met at the bar had to emphasise the point.

He'd been given the details about a week ago, even after he'd promised himself just prior to moving to Odaiba that he wouldn't go into one of  _those_  bars again. It was supposed to be a new, fresh start . . . But he had gone in, and he had gotten caught up in looking at the other men - and in particular, looking at the teenage boys who'd gotten in with fake IDs . . .

It was wrong, he knew, but he couldn't help it. He'd keep telling himself that he had a  _partner_ , that he had a  _son._  But . . . he couldn't help doing this. Ever since he had taken that first step into his first gay bar just five years ago, he'd been screwing young boys in motel rooms, or the back of his car, once or twice a month. And he'd never been caught. He'd feel guilty, yes – but he loved it.

Supposedly this kid was beauty personified – not to mention a fantastic lay. It had taken him a week of continuously rubbing that piece of paper between his fingers, over and over again in his pants pocket, before he caved in to desire and just decided to drive here after getting off work earlier today.

He rang the doorbell.

He waited about half a minute before the door opened and a tall, extremely built, good-looking young man stood before him. He'd have been his type if he was younger.

"Hello," Hiroaki greeted.

Hideki nodded in return. "Yeah?"

"Oh," Hiroaki cleared his throat, "I'm Hiroaki. I, uh . . . I met someone at a bar who gave me your address for . . . well . . ." He didn't know quite how to put it.

"I see," Hideki responded, unperturbed - like he was used to men coming to his door wanting sex and looking ashamed. He crossed his arms. "You didn't call?"

"No," Hiroaki admitted. "Sorry, I hadn't planned . . . well, I didn't know if I would go through with this or not." His cheeks reddened a little in embarrassment.

Hideki sized him up silently for a few seconds. "Next time, call. We're not usually open to random drop-ins. For starters, it would be nice to know when Yamato is needed, so we can make sure that he'll definitely be here for you."

"Oh," Hiroaki's face fell, taking note of the boy's name. "He's not here?"

"No," Hideki answered. "He might be here soon. He might not. But if you'd call, we'd have booked a session for you."

"Right, right," Hiroaki muttered. "Sorry about that."

"It's not me wasting my time," Hideki countered. "But seeing as you're here, let me inform you of the rules and rates." He started to recite the usual drill he gave to first-time customers. "There is one room, and just one room, where you can engage in sexual activity. In the room you'll find lubrication, an assortment of toys, and condoms of a variety of sizes, should you have none. There is to be absolutely  _no_  barebacking and you must  _always_  wear a condom, even for oral.

"Each session is half an hour max – if you eat into even a minute over half an hour, you'll be asked to pay for two sessions. Oral sex is 10,000 yen, anal sex is 50,000 yen. If you pay for oral, oral is all you get – but if you pay for anal, you're welcome to do anything, including oral.

"Oh, and his shirt always stays on. _Always_. Never remove it or even place your hands underneath it. His upper body is off limits. Any questions?"

Hiroaki took a moment to digest all of the information, especially that last odd bit, before replying, "Sounds reasonable, if a bit pricier than I'm used to."

Hideki didn't comment on that, but asked, "So what will it be for today?"

"Well . . . I'd like to see the boy first before I agree to anything. Look before I buy, you know?" he joked a little.

_Fucking pervert_ , Hideki thought, but just nodded his head. He had no problems with renting Yamato out to men of whatever age – he didn't give a shit about him, after all – but he couldn't help but judge the ones who were over thirty. They were obviously paedophiles, and it kind of bothered him that he was in contact with so many of them. But he didn't dwell on it often. His father . . . well, his father had been sick. He wasn't a paedophile; not like these men.

Footsteps were then heard coming towards them, and Hideki stepped out of the apartment to see Eito, Taichi, and Yamato walking towards them. The middle-aged man – Hiroaki – looked like his interest had been piqued by quite a lot.

But Hideki's thoughts had changed from renting Yamato out, to Taichi's facial injury – there was a visible bruise on his cheek. "What happened to you?" Hideki directed at Taichi once his brothers reached him. He also glanced at Eito for the answer.

"He got into a fight with Ryu," Eito answered for Taichi, who hadn't bothered to respond; the younger brunet was staring intensely at the newcomer.

"Ryu?" Hideki questioned. "Your friend Ryu?"

"The one and only," Eito replied with a sigh.

"Well, did you kick his arse?" Hideki demanded of Eito, as though he'd expected him to avenge whatever Ryu did to Taichi.

" . . . No."

"And why not?" Hideki asked, eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't you have a fucking customer?" Eito changed the subject to avoid a lecture, looking at the middle-aged man. Besides, it wasn't like it had been  _his_  fault.

Hideki seemed to relent at that – at least for now. "These are my brothers," he informed Hiroaki, then gestured to the blond. "That's Yamato."

Yamato, who'd woken up just five minutes ago, showed no emotion on his face as he looked at the older man. He knew why the man was there – he'd done this hundreds of times before and gotten accustomed to the routine ages ago. At the beginning, his face would always fall whenever someone came over for him – but after one man had commented about it to Hideki (he'd said "the boy being sad was a turn off"), his oldest brother had beaten him severely for it and told him never to seem unhappy in front of a client ever again. He'd made sure from then on not to show emotion in front of them.

Hiroaki, who'd thought all three boys were more than perfect, nodded his head appreciatively, looking Yamato up and down. "Wow."

"So what'll it be?" Hideki asked.

"Anal sex for an hour," Hiroaki replied. It was a lot of money – 100,000 yen was more than enough to buy a plane ticket to most countries – but the boy was worth it. He  _was_  beautiful – plus, there was something awfully familiar about him that just made Hiroaki like him even more.

"Yamato," Hideki simply said in a commanding tone.

The blond reached out and took the older man's hand, giving him a (fake) smile, and proceeded to lead him inside the apartment to the appropriate room for their 'session'.

Taichi watched in silent, concealed anger as Yamato disappeared into the apartment with the old bastard.

He didn't like it. He  _really_  didn't fucking like it.

"So what was the fight about?" Hideki asked.

Oh, right. This was the real world where he had Hideki to answer to. Where  _everyone_  had Hideki to answer to.

Taichi shrugged. "Something dumb. It was nothing."

"You say that, but you've got a bruise on your fucking face."

Again, Taichi shrugged. "Barely hurts." He was downplaying it - his cheek still stung, and his ribs were sore. But he didn't need Hideki to go looking into the incident.

Hideki stared at him for a while longer before shaking his head, apparently letting it slide – Taichi was a big boy after all, he could handle a punch or two. "I need to talk to you guys, come on." He stepped back inside the apartment and led his brothers to the living room, joining Toru who was sat there watching television.

"Hey," Eito said to Toru, taking a seat next to him. Toru grunted in greeting.

Taichi's eyes met Toru's, but neither of the two chose to acknowledge the other – it seemed their fight from last night was still fresh in their minds. Usually though, Toru would have reacted similarly to how Hideki had reacted to Taichi's bruise. But this time - nothing. Taichi took a seat on the single couch away from Toru and Eito, and Hideki remained standing.

Switching the TV off for a moment, Hideki started the discussion with, "I think we need to assert more control over Yamato."

"That's fucking obvious," Toru agreed, making reference to the incident yesterday.

"What do you mean?" Eito asked Hideki to clarify, voicing what Taichi was thinking. As if they didn't control everything in Yamato's life already – what was asserting  _more_  control?

"Well," Hideki started, "I think last night showed that our restraints on him might not be iron clad after all. He directly disobeyed Toru, and that's not something I'm going to tolerate from him. He'd think he was free to do what he wants, and that's not on."

_It's not on for him to be a human being?_

Taichi wondered how he had been OK with this for so long. All of it started to make an insane amount of  _un_ -sense to him now. That wasn't a word, but he didn't care. It was how he felt.

"I think we need to be harder on him," Hideki continued, looking each of his brothers in the eye. "I want to pull Yamato out of school."

"Why?" Taichi voiced in surprise. The other two brothers shared the same questioning facial expression.

"Because he's no longer required by law to attend," Hideki answered. "What's the point in having him be educated when he could be doing something else in the time wasted? I think, instead, he should be rented out full time." Toru grinned at him, as if to say, 'I'm all for that'.

" _What_?" Taichi exclaimed. "Hideki, no." He shook his head emphatically to get his point across. Yamato was being fucked by some old geezer right now, and Taichi didn't fucking like it now even when Yamato was only doing it 'part-time'. He knew how much Yamato hated how these men – ranging in age from their late teens all the way up to their late forties, sometimes even well into their fifties – came around to use him in Hideki's old bedroom which they had dubbed the 'rent room'. He was going to fight this.

"Why the fuck not?" Toru retorted at him. "We'd make a tonne more money if he worked full time. All his days would be free for it all year 'round."

"Exactly," Hideki said. "And if he's out of school we don't have to worry about feeding him all the time, or beating him up too hard too often, because no one who gives a fuck will know."

_I'd know_ , Taichi thought. He understood now what Hideki was trying to do – what his master plan for Yamato was. They were restricted by society – the only times they fully beat up Yamato was during the holidays when he'd have time to heal before going back into the public eye come school. Most of the time they had to be careful not to hit his face – or anywhere visible – too hard.

Taichi remembered how frustrated Hideki or Toru got whenever they knew they were doing a bit too much damage to Yamato that they needed to stop beating the crap out of him, despite the fact that their adrenaline were running ridiculously high and they wanted to keep going. Taichi had witnessed just how violent they could get, and even he didn't stick around for the worst. But Yamato  _had_  to stick around, and  _more_  – he had to  _endure_  their violence.

"Hideki, come on," Taichi said, his voice serious. "He's just a kid." He was just trying to convey the message that he thought it was a little too much for Yamato.

Toru snorted. "You're not even a year older than him and you're calling him a kid?"

Taichi chose to ignore him - he was  _only_  a month shy of being a full year older - and kept his eyes on Hideki. "I'm not going to agree to it," he stated, his tone low and defiant. He wasn't going to take the only thing Yamato had away from him – at school, he was free from this apartment and what happened in it. And even then, school wasn't even that safe for the blond . . .

Hideki stared silently at Taichi, trying to figure out his line of thought, before simply nodding his head and looking to Eito and Toru. "How about you guys?"

"Totally  _for_  it," Toru predictably replied, before looking over at Eito expectantly for him to agree.

Taichi also looked at Eito, but he obviously wanted his closest brother to agree with  _him_. He hadn't thought he had a chance in hell of that until half an hour ago however, when Eito had just ignored Yamato having way more money than he should've, and actually picked the blond up. For whatever reason, Eito seemed a little more understanding towards him – and without question. At least for now. So Taichi hoped he was on his side.

"I think . . ." Eito began, a little hesitant. "I think the school would find it a little suspicious that Yamato would drop out when he's in the highest class." He shrugged. "Who drops out of high school these days? Especially a kid as smart as Yamato. You know one of his teachers who had me last year actually stopped me in the hallway today and praised the kid? And it's only been  _three_  days." He'd added the last piece to make his decision against the idea a little more fleshed out and reasonable. And hey, it  _did_  happen.

Hideki surveyed his middle brother. "So, you're against the idea?" He raised an eyebrow towards him, for confirmation.

Eito shrugged. "For now . . ." He'd never really spoken against any of Hideki's ideas. Hideki was Hideki after all, and everything just seemed to work his way, so he never questioned it. But Taichi obviously wanted him to be on his side – whatever side that was . . .

"I'll take your opinions into consideration," Hideki finally said at length, before turning and leaving the room, ending the discussion.

Taichi was surprised, but glad, that Eito had sided with him – but he also knew that Hideki  _would_  make the final decision by himself if he wanted to. It was as though they should all just appreciate the fact that he  _had_  asked for their opinions.

"What is wrong with you guys," Toru remarked, shaking his head. "As if it's a big deal to pull Yamato out of school." He turned the TV back on, but kept the volume low. There was a soccer match being televised.

"How does Yamato staying in school affect you?" Taichi spat back.

"It affects my income," Toru replied lazily, meaning if Yamato worked less he got paid less.

"It's not even yours, arsehole," Taichi retorted. It was rightfully Yamato's – but of course he only ever saw the slightest fraction of it in the form of his measly 500 yen a week allowance.

Toru kept his eyes on the TV, and after a short delay, voiced in a bored tone, "I can't tell the difference between a soccer player and a horse jockey. They're about the same size, right? They both weigh as much as a little girl?"

The youngest brunet rolled his eyes at Toru. "Fuck you," he said, then proceeded to storm off to his room.

* * *

Hideki walked into his bedroom with the 100,000 yen the middle-aged man had paid him, going straight to the large briefcase that he used as a bank for all their 'savings fund'. He clicked it open and placed the new bills with the others that had come from Yamato's customers. The briefcase was split into two compartments: one contained bills, while the other contained white envelopes – with bills inside them. The envelopes were all addressed to 'Susumu Yagami' – they never had a return address, but one envelope came once a month, every month, with 50,000 yen in it. Obviously, the person who sent it had no idea his father was dead.

When his father had been alive, the cash was almost always spent on booze or treats and presents for the boys. But since his father had died, Hideki hadn't touched it at all – he just didn't want to use  _that_  woman's money. He didn't need her money – and he  _especially_  wasn't going to spend it on her son. So he just let it all pile up in the briefcase – he estimated there was about 3,000,000 yen all up in the envelopes by now.

But he'd burn it all before Yamato saw one yen of it.

Hideki closed the briefcase shut and rubbed his temples, falling back onto his bed. He hated thinking about that bitch. Unlike his mother and father, she was evidently still alive – and it pissed him the fuck off.

The fucking whore had  _slept_  with his  _married_  father, gotten pregnant, and then  _dumped_  the unwanted piece of shit on their family. She had a baggage of crap that she just so easily tossed aside to ruin other people's lives, while she was allowed to happily saunter off into the sunset – probably off to fuck another married man, get pregnant, and ruin their lives, too.

Hideki looked over at his desk, where his favourite family portrait sat on display. His father was holding baby Eito, his mother was holding baby Taichi, and he and Toru were standing in front of them - grinning without a worry in the world, like only children could.

_We look so happy._

How could that woman destroy their family?

It made him so angry. His mother was a thousand times the woman that slut had been.  _She_  loved her sons and would never dream of sleeping with a married man, a  _family_  man. God, he missed her so much.

" _Take care of your brothers. And your father."_

That was the last thing she had said to him. He'd drifted off to sleep soon after, thinking that she was just saying good night to him – but found out the next morning that she had really been saying goodbye.

If only he had stayed up and talked to her, begged her to stay, maybe she wouldn't have . . .

Hideki shook his head. He couldn't even keep his promise to her. He had failed with his father – he was dead. But he was determined to keep the other half of his promise to her – he was going to take care of his little brothers until the day he died.

He owed her that.

A knock on the door then caught his attention, and he sat up on his bed in time to see Toru closing his bedroom door behind him.

"What's up?" he asked his younger brother, who proceeded to sit down next to him on his King size bed.

"What happened to Taichi?" Toru asked. Apparently he didn't want to ask Taichi himself; didn't want his kid brother to think he  _cared_  about him or anything - at least not currently, what with the way things stood between them, anyway.

Hideki sighed. "Fight with Ryu."

Toru's eyebrow rose. "Eito's faggot friend?" He was surprised because that kid was sturdy for an eighteen-year-old, and Taichi had no chance against him.

Hideki nodded. "Next time he comes around, he's done for."

"Don't worry," Toru told him. "I'll take care of him - there's almost nothing better than beating up a fag. Almost feels as good as beating up Yamato." He laughed, and Hideki couldn't help but grin at his closest brother. He could talk more easily with Toru than with the others - he didn't need to be so stuck in the role of the overly domineering eldest brother.

Toru might not be the smartest of the brothers - actually, they all knew he was the least intelligent, though he was in no way dumb, however much he might act like he was - but he understood Hideki the most. It was probably because he had been old enough to experience and remember what had happened to their family, just as Hideki had. In that way, the two identified with each other a lot more than Eito or Taichi could, as the younger two had just been babies when their life went to shit, and therefore their wounds weren't as 'fresh' but instead had been acquired in a second-hand kind of way. Hideki knew he could always count on Toru to agree with him on almost anything.

"Just don't kill the faggot. Or get caught," Hideki cautioned his brother. "You almost got arrested when you publicly assaulted that guy who went after Eito for screwing his sister. I don't need you getting locked up."

"Gotcha," Toru smirked, remembering beating that particular arsehole senseless for kicking Eito's arse. Good times. But then his face turned serious. "What'cha gonna do about Yamato? Eito and Taichi are being girls about it."

"Right?" Hideki agreed, arching an eyebrow. "But, I haven't decided. Eito brought up a good point, so I don't know."

Toru shook his head. "Just do it, Hideki. The faggot really doesn't fucking need to be in school. And you know, all the cash he makes - it goes straight to our futures and shit. You don't think Eito and Taichi would appreciate that, at the end of the day?"

He basically echoed Hideki's own thoughts. "Yeah, I know," Hideki agreed again. "But it makes me wonder . . . what's going to happen when Yamato turns twenty?"

Toru snorted. "He'd probably run away when he comes of age."

"You think so?" Hideki asked. He'd thought about that possibility himself, but he was rather dubious of it actually happening - after all, he'd ingrained in Yamato while 'raising' him that the blond  _needed_  them; that he was too dependent on them, and nowhere near independent enough to survive on his own. It had been part of his plan to make Yamato think a certain way, so that he wouldn't question the way he was treated. If Yamato had been civilised properly, he would no doubt know that what they were doing was wrong - and therefore wouldn't put up with it as he'd been doing his entire life.

"Yeah." Toru shrugged. "Or maybe his mum will come for him then."

Hideki had contemplated that as well. "She might." He remembered the bitch looking so fucking upset that she was leaving Yamato with them - but then,  _why the fuck_  did she leave him here in the first place? They would have  _gladly_  let her keep him.

Toru was quiet for a moment. "Isn't that a good thing?" Yamato would be . . . gone. That's what they had wanted. Right?

Hideki paused at that, before shrugging his shoulders. "Yeah . . . Maybe. I don't know." He didn't know why that unsettled him. Maybe because  _he_  had been the one to put up with Yamato for sixteen years and counting, and for his stupid cow of a mother to just come in and take the kid away after  _he_  had raised him - like he was just some babysitting service that took care of your kid before he was full-grown so you could pick him up once he was nicely packaged as a twenty-year-old . . .

It seemed a bit wrong, didn't it? He'd been responsible for Yamato for  _sixteen_  years . . .

Toru registered Hideki's non-answer, but didn't say anything about it. "So . . . what'cha gonna do about Yamato?" he instead repeated his previous question, before all the stuff about Yamato's pending adulthood - that was four years away.

The brothers were silent for a moment, until Toru broke out into a grin.

"Let's just have some fun for now. I have an idea . . ."

* * *

Yamato had just finished cleaning up the rent room after his hour-long session with Hiroaki, when Eito entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Yamato automatically assumed that Eito wanted to use him, and so fell obediently to his knees in a ready position to service his brother.

But Eito shook his head. "No," he voiced as he walked towards Yamato to stand in front of him.

The blond slowly got back up onto his feet, standing face to face with Eito, and feeling a small sense of relief that his brother didn't want to sexually abuse him. But he soon found himself feeling increasingly uneasy as his older brother just stared into his eyes intensely for a whole minute without saying anything. Yamato was reminded that Eito could be almost as intimidating as Hideki and Toru when he wanted to be.

After another minute, Eito finally asked in a low voice, "Where'd you get the money?"

Yamato blinked, surprised by the question. ". . . What?" he asked meekly. Inside, he was panicking – was Eito asking about the money Taichi had given him? But how did he know about that . . .

Eito's eyes narrowed. " _Don't_  play dumb with me. You know what I'm talking about."

Eito was the most perceptive of the brothers, and it was clear to him that something was going on with Taichi – something that concerned Yamato. He couldn't piece everything together yet, but he knew he was on the right track. But he didn't want to spook Taichi by confronting him about it – at least not yet. He wanted to see where this was going first; whether there was anything to be concerned about.

"The money . . ." Yamato began timidly. "The money in my pocket?" He felt sad that Eito was being so intimidating to him now when he'd actually felt a little . . .  _cared_  for by his brother when he had regained consciousness and found himself in his arms earlier.

Eito resisted the urge to slap Yamato (any other day and he would have – he was just refraining on Taichi's behalf). The blond was just so slow and dumb in communication – how the hell he had done so well in school, Eito didn't know. He nodded. "You have more money than you should. Why? And don't you  _fucking_  lie to me."

Yamato swallowed. So Eito knew. "Tai . . . Taichi gave me the money," he answered him.

Eito had suspected that, of course. He wasn't thick. "And why would he do that?" he asked.

Yamato shook his head. "I – I don't know . . ." He knew he shouldn't have accepted the coins from Taichi - he was going to get it now from Eito and the others. But he hoped he hadn't gotten Taichi in trouble as well . . . his brother had just tried to help him. Right? Or had this been Taichi's ploy all along . . .

"You . . ." Eito cocked his head, voice dubious, "don't know?"

Yamato shook his head again. "He just . . . gave it to me. He said . . . for food." He couldn't lie to Eito – he was too much of a wimp, and there was no point in digging a deeper grave.

Eito stared Yamato down hard, contemplating his answer.  _Why is Taichi taking interest in feeding him?_

However, Eito's thoughts were interrupted when the door opened and two figures walked in: Hideki and Toru. Yamato's heart sank - this couldn't be good.

"New rules!" Toru laughed as he walked towards Yamato. He had a sadistic grin on his face.

Hideki followed close behind, approaching Yamato and levelling him with a steel gaze. "Listen carefully," he said in a tone to match his gaze. "Because your mother was a  _bitch_ , it's only fitting that you're a pup. So these are rules for this apartment, and this apartment only, befitting your new pup status. From now on you are to be naked at all times. When addressing us, you'll forget our names and instead call us 'Master'. If we want to call you Yamato, we will – but you will now also answer to 'Pup'.

"You are to ask for our permission every time you need to take a piss, a dump, a shower. I will no longer give you a weekly allowance, because a pup has no need for money. You will only eat dog food from now on. And unless you're cooking breakfast, lunch, or dinner, or otherwise given permission to stand, you are to always be on your hands and knees at all times. Understood?"

Yamato's face had fallen to utter devastation as he processed the new rules, like a small puppy that had been kicked too many times and left abandoned out in the rain. And then run over by a truck.

" _Understood_?" Hideki repeated with more force when Yamato didn't respond.

"Did I . . ." Yamato began, his voice wavering, "Did I do something wrong?" He was on the verge of tears.

"Well disobeying me yesterday certainly wasn't  _right_ ," Toru said mockingly.

Yamato looked at him desperately, panic and alarm in his eyes. "I'm sorry – I told you - I really,  _really_  am, Toru –"

_Slap_.

"It's fucking 'Master', arsehole," Toru barked at him.

Yamato brought a hand up to his reddened cheek. "Please . . ." he begged. " _Please_  don't do this . . . I'll be good, I swear . . . I'll be better . . ." They were stripping him of what little pride he had left. Why? He couldn't understand why they couldn't just  _once_  think about how  _he_  felt.

"Pup," Hideki said in a warning tone. "Get your clothes off and get down on your hands and knees before I make you do it myself – and you don't fucking want me to, you know that."

There was a rather long pause before Yamato shakily started pulling all his clothes off, and getting down onto the floor on his hands and knees.

"Good boy," Hideki remarked coldly. "That's your place, Pup. Don't you ever fucking forget it."

On his hands and knees on the floor, with his head lowered, Yamato let his tears fall.  _Why are they doing this . . ._  Hadn't he been punished severely enough? He still had to go to GB on Saturday . . .

Toru stepped up to Yamato, bent down a little, and roughly grabbed his hair, angling the blond's face upwards so he was looking up at him. He ignored the tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Now finish off what you were  _meant_  to do last night, faggot," Toru sneered, letting go of Yamato's hair so he could unzip his pants. His limp dick fell out easily.

Yamato's vision was a little blurry with the salt water in his eyes, but there was no mistaking Toru's cock in front of him. Now he  _had_  to do what he'd tried to escape from doing the previous night - because he didn't know  _what_  they'd do if he didn't. They were already so angry at him. If he had just been obedient last night and drank Toru's urine then, all this wouldn't be happening now - he wouldn't have been on his hands and knees like a dog . . . it was all his fault.

_Stupid, stupid Yamato . . ._

Yamato forced himself to hold back the remainder of his tears, took a deep, sniffled breath, and leaned forward to take the tip of Toru's penis into his mouth. He rested both hands on Toru's thighs for leverage.

It didn't take long for Toru to start pissing.

Yamato gagged, and Toru reached out and gripped his chin in the event that he'd pull away - but Yamato remained this time, and continued drinking.

The taste was both familiar and unfamiliar to Yamato; because Toru hadn't been drinking today, his urine was less bitter than it had been yesterday, but still, there was an unmistakable foul taste nonetheless.

It was awful.

Yamato forced his mind to think he was drinking something else - mineral water. Really old, been-out-in-the-sun-all-day, mineral water. That fish swam and died in. He gagged a little again, but forced himself to continue - there was bound to be an end soon.

Eito stood on the other side of Yamato, watching him consume Toru's urine. He did think it was disgusting, but at the same time, it wasn't like it was really any worse than anything else they made Yamato consume - it was all the same, no different to anything else.

At last, Yamato had sucked Toru dry. His older brother smirked at him. "See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Yamato didn't answer - he wanted to wash his mouth out  _really_  bad.  _Would you like_ me _to urinate in_ your _mouth?_  he couldn't help thinking, before chastising himself.

"Will you be disobeying us from now on?" Hideki asked roughly.

Yamato looked up at him. "No," he answered quietly.

"I think you're fucking missing something, Pup," Toru interjected, smashing his fist into his palm for effect.

Yamato turned sad eyes to him before returning his gaze to Hideki. "No, Master," he said quietly. Then, in an even quieter voice, "But . . ." he started, before changing his mind and closing his mouth.

Hideki's eyes narrowed. "You want to say something?"

Yamato looked back down at his hands on the floor, and swallowed a few times, before looking back up with what courage he had left - which, to be honest, wasn't much. And it wasn't even  _courage_  - it was just . . . his fear and reluctance towards the new rules - towards his new role.

"I . . ." he began, timidly, "I always . . .  _almost_  always, do exactly as you say -"

"So you admit that you  _do_  disobey us?" Hideki countered, twisting what Yamato was trying to say.

Yamato closed his mouth and paused uncomfortably, before trying again. "Only sometimes . . . initially . . . but I always obey in the end. But that's - that's not what I meant. I just . . ."

When none of his three brothers in the room said anything, Yamato ascertained that maybe it was OK to keep going. But he tried to choose his words carefully. "I . . . I don't mean to disrespect you - I don't. I'm - I'm not." Yamato shook his head to make it clear. "But . . . sometimes . . . sometimes I just feel like . . . you're being a little . . . unfair . . ." His last word was barely above a whisper.

"What was that?" Hideki growled, taking a step closer to the blond and cocking his head down mockingly. " _Unfair_?" He turned to Toru. "Did he just fucking say  _unfair_?"

Toru snorted. "He definitely said that shit." Eito had an eyebrow raised at Yamato's little speech.

Yamato, in a panic, forced himself to finish what he wanted to say so that maybe they could understand where he was coming from. "It's just - I mean . . . I do everything you say. But I always . . . I always get punished. Even when I do everything you say. And Taichi - he doesn't always do everything you say. But he never gets punished - not like I do." He kept his gaze to the floor out of fear.

Hideki stared down hard at Yamato's bowed head. He was a little surprised that the blond had actually dared to say that. What the fuck?

"I'm curious," Hideki said through clenched teeth, "but are you actually insinuating that  _you_  and  _Taichi_  are fucking  _equal_?"

Yamato took a moment to respond. "No," he said quietly. He knew that much.

"Then what is this bullshit coming out of your goddamn mouth!"

". . . It was just an example . . ."

"Just an example? You have more, do you?" Hideki growled at him.

Yamato shrugged his shoulders helplessly. This wasn't going well . . .

"Why is it fucking unfair? Go on, tell me arsehole," Hideki sneered through his anger. Toru was watching, riveted, with a sinister grin. Eito just shook his head at Yamato - the blond shouldn't have opened his mouth like that. He really thought he'd have known a lot better by now.

"When Daddy was alive -"

_Slap_.

"Well he's fucking not because of you!" Hideki yelled, pushed to his limit. He grabbed Yamato around his shoulders, his hands clenching around the blond's upper arms, as he lifted him up from his position on the floor so that they were face to face. "If you were actually an intelligent fucking arsehole, maybe you would've considered the fact that if you  _had_  obeyed us, instead of speaking up against  _our_  rules, we might have lifted the new rules later on, when you'd have shown us you  _can_  obey us and therefore had redeemed yourself?

"But no, you're just a fucking dumbarse."

Yamato was shaking in Hideki's grip - his arms were getting increasingly sore, and he was always so frightened when Hideki got mad at him like this. "I'm sorry," he managed to say, "I didn't mean it . . . I'm sorry . . . Master."

Hideki continued to glare at the blond at eye level, wanting to pummel him, but a quick glance towards Eito told him he shouldn't. His middle brother had shaken his head at him - a signal that said he shouldn't damage Yamato any more than he already was damaged. The blond's injuries were piling up from the past few days, and it definitely wouldn't look good to anyone outside of the apartment. Yamato was lucky this time.

Hideki forced himself to let Yamato go, who immediately dropped back down to his position on his hands and knees on the floor. "Go brush your fucking teeth," Hideki told him in a low voice, before turning and leaving the room.

Toru laughed, following Hideki out the door. "I'll buy a fucking collar and leash for you tomorrow – you'll fucking love it," he said, before he too disappeared.

Eito looked down at Yamato pitifully; he actually felt sorry for him, despite the blond being rather - well,  _blond_ , and speaking his mind to Hideki. Where had that come from, anyway? That was the most he'd ever heard Yamato say about his treatment in years. The blond must really not have liked the new rules - and Eito couldn't blame him. The money issue with Taichi seemed so small in comparison that he thought maybe he'd just let Yamato keep the coins. After all, how could he punish the blond any worse?

Hideki had obviously replaced his idea of pulling Yamato out of school with  _this_ new idea . . .

Maybe Yamato would have been better off with the former.

* * *

Taichi stood shirtless in front of his wardrobe's mirror, looking at himself from all angles as he flexed his muscles.

He liked his body – so Toru could go fuck himself.

Maybe his brother's insults would mean more when he  _had_  a typical soccer player's build a year ago – he admitted he'd gotten rather slim from all those years playing the endurance sport. His brothers had explained to him that soccer training was making him overdo his cardiovascular work outs – he was forced to run faster and harder, which made a person burn not only fat, but muscle as well. So Hideki had drawn up a personalised work out schedule for him, as well as a healthy eating plan to stick to – which Taichi followed . . . about half the time.

OK, so he just found going to the gym and eating no junk food whatsoever  _incredibly_  boring. So, really, sticking to it only half the time was actually pretty freaking good of him. And it was still rewarding – though obviously not as much as it would've been if he'd stuck to it 100 per cent.

His current physique was lean, toned, and decently muscled. He even had a six pack forming quite nicely. For an (almost) seventeen-year-old boy, he thought he was doing pretty well. Real life wasn't like those US television shows where incredibly built actors well into their twenties or thirties played teenagers. In  _real_ life high school, Taichi estimated about 10 per cent of guys in their first year, 15 per cent in their second year, and maybe 25 per cent in their third and final year, actually did  _some_  form of muscle training. And definitely in varying degrees of success – there weren't many guys with Eito's physique walking around Odaiba High – less than ten, max. Actually, Ryu (the faggot jerk) was the most built high schooler Taichi knew, and he wasn't even as built as Toru.

Taichi was sure he had a good body for his age – if he were another dude, he'd bang him.

Smirking to himself, Taichi grabbed two dumbbells from underneath his bed, before sitting down on said bed and focussing on doing reps one arm at a time for a light workout – every little bit counts, and at the moment, he was bored enough to do it.

Actually, he wondered if Yamato found his body attractive – he sure hoped so.

Taichi sighed. He didn't even know if Yamato was gay. Or if  _he_  himself was definitely gay. Or if Yamato would even consider . . .  _being_  with him.

He was so fucked up. This was all so fucked up.

But he still liked the idea of building up his body more to impress Yamato, so for the next hour or so he alternated between dumbbells, push ups, sit ups, and stomach crunches.

He had just stopped for a rest on his bed when his bedroom door creaked open and Yamato . . .  _crawled_ in on his hands and knees. Fully nude.

_That's strange_ , Taichi thought,  _the guys must be having a laugh_. Although he felt annoyed by what they were currently forcing Yamato to do, he decided he'd voiced enough negativity against his brothers for one day – no need to go overboard.

. . . And besides, a nude Yamato was an  _insane_  turn on.

Taichi sat up on his bed and watched as the blond closed the door and slowly made his way to his mattress, and proceeded to lay down flat on his stomach, burying his face completely in his stuffed animal 'pillow'.

_He must be upset about having sex with that stupid old man_ , Taichi thought, feeling frustrated and helpless about the situation. But at least it was over.

From his position on the bed, Taichi had a good view of Yamato's whole body just laying there . . . exposed. The blond still had marks on his body from the beatings he'd suffered in the past few days, but for some reason, they didn't turn Taichi off; he supposed because he now regarded them like . . . war wounds. Yamato hadn't mutilated himself – he had endured pain he had no control over, and seeing those marks didn't disgust Taichi (they only angered him towards the perpetrators). They weren't Yamato's fault, after all.

Taichi could only imagine how flawless Yamato would look without any injuries tarnishing his body. In fact, now that he thought about it – he had never seen Yamato  _without_  a bruise or break in his skin. The weight of what that meant hit him – Yamato was  _always_  hurt, every single day.

It made him sad. It made him want to protect Yamato even more.

But what kind of protector was he when he'd just let some stranger rape him?

Taichi sighed. Despite what he  _wanted_  to do for Yamato . . . realistically, he just . . . couldn't.

Maybe Yamato hadn't been raised right, but Taichi sure had – even with no mother and practically no father, he'd been brought up by Hideki, and even Toru and Eito. Those guys had taught him how to play soccer in the first place; how to ride a bike; how to stand up for himself. They were his brothers, and he loved them all – and they loved him.

Only, they  _hated_  Yamato . . .

Suddenly, the thought struck Taichi – was he actually  _betraying_  his brothers by liking Yamato?

His head was just so confused. Why was everything so difficult and complicated? He wanted to be on his brothers' side – but he wanted to be on Yamato's side, too. Was there a way he could be on both? Taichi doubted it. He couldn't see a way. He'd have to make a choice.

His brothers – or Yamato.

_Yamato_.

All this time Taichi had just been staring at Yamato's naked body - at the alluring curve of his arse. He wondered, vaguely, if he really was just being a hormonal-driven teenager. Was it just physical? If Yamato had been ugly, would he even care about the blond?

Slowly, curiously, Taichi got off his bed and proceeded to lower himself full-body on top of the blond, in an experiment his mind had just made up.

Yamato had been crying silent tears into his stuffed animal, when he felt a hard body press against him. It had to be Taichi – he was the only other person in the room. He froze. His mind ran through a hundred different reasons why Taichi would be on top of him.

_Please don't rape me . . ._

His whole world as he knew it had just gone to shit, and he really didn't want Taichi to take advantage of him right now - but of course, as if it ever mattered what  _he_  wanted . . .

Despite the fact that Taichi  _had_  known Yamato was naked – he'd been staring at him for being nude since he'd entered the room – he suddenly became  _aware_ , on another level, just  _how_ naked Yamato was when their bodies made contact. Taichi himself wasn't wearing a shirt, and in fact the only piece of clothing separating them from being completely naked together were his loose-fitting shorts . . .

And it didn't help that the distinct aroma of  _sex_  on Yamato's skin was intoxicating Taichi and pushing all his senses.

Yamato lifted his head up a little from his stuffed animal when he started to feel what could only be Taichi's growing erection pressing against his arse - making it crystal clear what Taichi was after. He squeezed his eyes shut. Even though he had been OK with the idea of Taichi having sex with him yesterday, as payment for all the kindness he had shown him in the past few days - a part of him had still clung onto the thought that maybe this day would never come, that maybe his brother had cared about him even just a little bit, so as not to hurt him like this.

But here Taichi was . . .

He should've known better than to be so naive.

_But . . . maybe Taichi won't be like the others . . . maybe he'll be gentle . . ._

That was the only thing Yamato could hope for, at this point. And, he reminded himself, Taichi  _had_  stopped Ryu from fucking him earlier - which he was grateful for - so it wasn't like he didn't  _owe_  Taichi a 'thank you' fuck. He owed him a lot of 'thank you' fucks this week, really.

Thinking about all the things Taichi had done for him - Yamato felt a little better about the act occurring now. He could feel Taichi slowly start to grind his crotch against his arse. One of the brunet's hands found its way around to his chest, while the other one had travelled down and around . . . to his genitals.

Yamato opened his eyes in surprise.

He hadn't expected that. He was used to some of his customers touching him there, but not one of his brothers – Hideki, Toru or Eito didn't go anywhere  _near_  his penis. But Taichi . . . Taichi was definitely touching him there, which just made Yamato confused. Why would Taichi do that? He was his  _brother_  . . . why would he touch his penis when the rest of his brothers wouldn't? Yamato didn't understand.

Taichi continued to cup and squeeze Yamato's testicles, before releasing them to slowly stroke his penis, attempting to make the blond hard. The brunet's mind had stopped thinking ages ago. He was just . . . touching, feeling, exploring on instinct. What he was doing was so new and different to him - he'd only ever touched himself  _there_  before, never another guy, much less his  _brother_  – and yet, it was clear he wasn't disgusted.

He was, in fact, incredibly turned on.

Then Taichi realised that Yamato hadn't responded to his advances – the blond hadn't moved at all, really. Did he not want him to touch him? His mind panicked a little at the possibility that Yamato might not like this - might not like  _him_.

Taichi stopped what he was doing for a moment to flip Yamato over, so that the blond was now flat on his back, staring up at him.

Uncertain blue eyes met curious brown.

And then, as though on auto-pilot, Taichi leaned forward and closed the gap between their lips.

Yamato's eyes widened further in surprise, but Taichi didn't see – the brunet's eyes were closed as he continued to explore the blond's mouth.

Again, Yamato's thoughts lingered on the fact that the rest of his brothers would never do this. He really didn't understand what was happening at all – but it was his job to please Taichi . . .

Slowly, hesitantly, Yamato began to respond to his brother. He applied some pressure to Taichi's lips, while his hands began travelling over the brunet's strong, firm back.

Taichi smiled into Yamato's mouth as he felt the blond start to reciprocate; the kissing was definitely getting a whole lot better now that it wasn't one-sided. And he loved the feeling of Yamato's hands roaming his back, touching him. He could hardly believe that he was finally with the person he'd been fantasizing about for the past few nights, relishing in the fact that Yamato hadn't rejected him –

"Hey, Taichi –"

It was amazing how quickly something could come to an abrupt end.

The next three seconds were a blur to Taichi.

_One_.

He had pulled away.

_Two_.

Toru was standing in the doorway.

_Three_.

And Yamato had one hand covering his nose as blood seeped through his fingers and down his chin.

_Fuck._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, there it is. Sorry for the majorly long wait. Life has been really, really busy. :(
> 
> Regarding the story, I just want to confirm that Hiroaki is not Yamato's father here, for those who might think otherwise – Susumu is definitely Yamato's father in this story. But Hiroaki is my absolute favourite Chosen parent – such a shame I had to make him an OOC douche. :( And writing his bit with Yamato was creepy . . . probably because I kept thinking of him as Yamato's father.
> 
> My biggest problem with writing this chapter was that it was getting way too long (yes, even longer than it is here!), and I just didn't like the flow of it because it really felt like I was writing two chapters in one. I realised that I kept getting frustrated because things that I had wanted to happen weren't actually happening yet, because there was too much to write. So . . . I've cut what I have in half, and this chapter actually ends in what was originally supposed to be the ending for the previous chapter. Yeah, I really underestimate how long my dot point scenes go for, when written. So all the Kenato and Taito oral/anal sex scenes have been pushed back, unfortunately. The good news though is that it shouldn't take me too long to release the sixth chapter – as in, you might even see it within a month or two . . . depending on your responses, of course. ;)
> 
> Feedback is always greatly appreciated, and the only reason I continue to write – so thank you. :)


	6. Six

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> . . . Well, that was a long month. :3
> 
> Apologies for the epic seven year (!) delay and thank you for your incredible patience, if by chance you’re still even reading this. I really do appreciate every single one of you that has ever left me a supportive review or PM – it definitely meant a lot to me that there were so many people who were just as passionate about this story as I was. Unfortunately, my passion for writing fanfiction died in 2014 . . .
> 
> I stopped working on this chapter in April 2014 – mostly because it was making me really uncomfortable and I just thought it was too fucked up to be published. It probably is . . . But I randomly read all your lovely reviews again, felt guilty that I had promised a sixth chapter that never materialised, and started writing it again in April 2019. But I worked on it for about a month before I lost all the new progress I had made in a HDD failure. I did think, “Fuck it, I’m so done with this” for a few days . . . but, in the end, decided to push through and write the month’s progress I had lost all over again. Plus more, of course. Now here we are. Finally finished! IT’S A MIRACLE!
> 
> I hope you can all understand that just as it’s difficult for you to read XY, it’s also difficult for me to write. I have to be in a certain mood and frame of mind to be able to write this story, as a lot of it is really depressing and just plain awful. So when I’m just going about my life, I don’t necessarily want to be “brought down” by writing this story. And this chapter really was a monster to write, both in content and in words – it’s a super-sized chapter. It clocked in at over 20,000 words – which is a real bitch to edit, let me tell you. (For comparison, the first chapter was 4000 words, second was 6000, third and fourth were 9000, and fifth was 15,000 . . .)
> 
> Warning: Sibling abuse (emotional, sexual). This is also the worst chapter I’ve had to write – and by that I mean it was the most uncomfortable and challenging for me to write (so much so I took a five year hiatus on it . . .), so it will be uncomfortable for you to read. Keep that in mind if you choose to read on. Will you be disturbed? Yes. Will you be aroused? Maybe. ;)

_Did he see?_

That was the only thought going through Taichi's mind. He didn't think his heart could beat any faster.

Toru stood in the doorway, surveying the scene before him, glancing from Taichi to Yamato. His eyes lingered a bit longer on the bleeding Yamato, before he returned his gaze back to Taichi – breaking out into a wide grin and proceeding into the room, offering Taichi a high-five.

Taichi responded automatically in a haze, his brain still trying to calm down from all the panic he had felt.

"What did he do?" Toru asked with a smirk. "Man, it's been  _ages_  since you hit him."

Taichi looked back at Yamato, dazed.

 _I fucking_ kissed  _him. My own fucking brother. What was I_ thinking _?_

Taichi's hand stung; he had punched Yamato in alarm as soon as he'd heard Toru's voice. The blond was now looking at him with hurt and fear in his eyes. He wanted to apologise for punching him, but –

"So, what did he do?" Toru prompted again when Taichi failed to answer.

Taichi snapped back to attention. "Uh –" Crap. "He . . . was crying about something. I thought it was annoying." His heart was still pounding. But, judging from Toru's response, apparently his older brother  _didn't_  see him kissing Yamato. A huge wave of relief washed over him – along with the very real thought that he could  _not_  let his brothers find out about his attraction to Yamato. What  _had_  he been thinking – kissing him and touching him like that? That was way too close.

Toru laughed. "Yeah, the fag's always got something to cry about."

Taichi did not like the use of the 'F' word, but let it go. "Did you want something?" he asked, hoping to change the subject away from Yamato. Wasn't Toru technically 'fighting' with him anyway? So what had he come in here for?

Toru nodded in reply, before looking down at Yamato with a sneer. "Pup, be a good dog and go outside while your owners talk."

Taichi's eyebrows rose at that, and he watched as Yamato lowered his head and proceeded to crawl out of the room as fast as he could with one hand still holding his bleeding nose.

"What was that?" Taichi asked Toru when Yamato had left.

" _That_  is what I wanted to tell you," Toru told him. "We have a dog again. His name is Pup – in memory of Puppy." He sniggered. "I do hope the new pup won't have the same fate as the old one."

Puppy was a dog they used to have as kids . . . before their father killed it in a drunken rage.

Taichi's eyebrows furrowed. "Explain?"

Toru took a seat on the edge of Taichi's bed and quickly informed his younger brother of the new rules for Yamato that he and Hideki had decided upon. When Toru had finished, Taichi's mouth was left agape.

"Are you being  _serious_?" Taichi asked incredulously. "You can't make him walk around the apartment like a dog and eat –  _dog food_. What the hell?" He could feel his anger rise rapidly at the level of degradation his brothers were willing to go with Yamato.

Toru was not amused with Taichi's reaction. First the pissing thing, then the school thing, and now this? A look of suspicion crossed his dark features. "What's gotten into you, Taichi? Why are you so against us treating Yamato like – like . . .  _Yamato_?" His eyes were almost accusing.

With that question, Taichi could feel his anger slowly being replaced with a new emotion: fear. It was almost a foreign feeling to him, but he really did not want his brothers to know about his attraction towards Yamato – and definitely not about what had just happened between him and the blond just moments ago. He didn't know what would happen if they found out.  _Well, nothing good_.

"I'm . . . I'm not  _against_  that . . ." Taichi lied, trying to keep Toru from getting closer to learning the truth. "It's just . . . Yamato's not a  _dog_ , Toru . . ."

Toru surveyed his younger brother, trying to figure out what he was thinking. "It's just a bit of fun," he said at last. "Stop thinking so much, Taichi. You're not Eito."

"I'm not thinking too much," Taichi protested, realising at the same time that it was a lie. He'd thought  _way_  too much in the past week – he never used to think that much. But this whole thing with Yamato was really stressing him out.

"Yes, you are," Toru stated matter-of-factly. "Stop giving so many fucks, man. Yamato isn't any of your concern. Leave him to me and Hideki."

"It's not about Yamato," Taichi stressed, although he had no idea how to argue his case without it looking like he  _did_  care about Yamato. "It's just . . . how far are you guys willing to go with – with  _this_?"

Toru, once again, took a few moments to study his younger brother. His eyes narrowed. "Don't you trust us?"

"Of course I do –"

"I'm starting to think you don't trust us," Toru cut him off with a cold stare. "Who fucking raised you?" He didn't wait for an answer. " _We_  did. Hideki did. Why the fuck are you questioning us?"

Taichi knew he'd hit a nerve with Toru. His brother rarely got serious like this, and he didn't quite know how to respond to him without pushing his buttons even further. It really wasn't often that Toru spoke about things like this.

"Look," Toru continued with a sigh, running his hand through his hair. "I know it's easy to forget what Hideki has done for us. What we have now, how things are . . . it's easy to just take all of it for granted. But Hideki's given up a lot for us. He's almost twenty-seven; he should be married with kids by now. He would be, too, if Mum and Dad were still alive.

"But he isn't. Because he thinks he needs to look after us – especially you."

Like Taichi didn't know all that? But Toru did had a point. Taichi felt a little guilty – but also defensive.

"Hideki's always had our backs," Toru went on. "Don't you think he deserves for you to have his?"

"I have his back," Taichi returned, frowning slightly. How had Toru changed the topic from Yamato to Hideki?

"Then prove it," Toru told him. "Stop questioning his decisions so much. He's sacrificed a lot for us – and all you ever seem to do is question him."

"If you're talking about pulling Yamato out of school –"

"I'm talking about that and everything you  _didn't_  seem to have a problem with in the past." Toru looked at him intently. "Did something happen?"

"No," Taichi was quick to deny, feeling that sense of fear creeping up again. "I'm just . . . concerned that we'll get caught."

"We haven't got caught so far."

"Yeah, but that was before you had a human pet," Taichi spat out.

Toru couldn't help smirking at that, even though Taichi hadn't intended on that reaction. "Yeah, well. It'll be fun. And you know how careful Hideki is; he'd never approve it if he thought we'd be in any danger of getting caught."

Taichi was stumped. Toru was right; Hideki was too smart and too cautious about everything that concerned Yamato. He had a plan for everything. "Do whatever you want with Yamato," Taichi finally said. "I don't care." He paused, feeling split with his emotions. "But don't fucking accuse me of taking Hideki for granted."

Toru gave Taichi a lopsided grin before standing up and ruffling his younger brother's hair in a gesture that said he thought Taichi was all right. Taichi, of course, batted his brother's hand away as Toru then chuckled and left the room, leaving Taichi alone with his thoughts.

Taichi wasn't happy with what had just happened. But he really did need to back off from Yamato, because if his brothers found out it would only spell disaster. He needed to stop this thing with Yamato. But – the thought that Yamato  _hadn't_  rejected him echoed in his mind.  _Yamato kissed me back._  And he was going to give that up?

_Stop kidding yourself, Taichi._

He needed to get back to reality. As if he could ever,  _realistically_ , be with Yamato – even if the blond  _had_  kissed him back. Taichi was still surprised he had.

_No. Stop._

He only seemed to care about Yamato because he'd just realised that he was gay. It was just his luck that Yamato was the single most attractive guy he'd ever seen in his life. That was it. He  _needed_  it to be it.

Yamato was nothing to him.  _Nothing_.

At least, that was what he kept repeating in his mind.

* * *

Yamato slowly made his way into the living room to leave Toru and Taichi alone. He was still using one hand cautiously to stem the bleeding of his nose, which fortunately seemed to have stopped.

Eito glanced at Yamato as he entered the living room, his gaze lingering a little on the blond's bloody nose, before returning his attention back to the television screen without another thought.

Yamato took a seat on the floor next to the couch – he certainly wasn't going to sit on it, not with him being a 'dog'. He suppressed bitter tears. He really hoped his brothers lifted the new rules soon – although he pretty much guaranteed that they wouldn't for a while after speaking out against them like he did . . .

He felt ashamed of himself. Why had he let his emotions get the best of him? He knew how much his brothers thought he was too sensitive, too emotional, too  _girly_  . . . and he had to go and show them they were right about him. How could he expect them to one day forgive him when he'd been so disrespectful towards them? He wanted to apologise to them again for his outburst. He had no right to say what he did – and he had dragged Taichi's name through the mud, too . . .

Yamato had no idea what was going on with that particular brother, either. It seemed the only brother who had yet to rape him was finally ready to do the deed, but what surprised Yamato the most was the fact that the brunet had not only touched him intimately, but also  _kissed_  him. And then punched him for it.

The TV show went to a commercial break and Eito spoke up, bringing Yamato out of his thoughts. "Who did that?" Eito asked, obviously talking about his bloody nose.

". . . Taichi," Yamato replied quietly.

That surprised Eito. He had expected it to be Hideki or Toru. But Taichi hit Yamato? He couldn't remember the last time he had. And, given how his brother was acting the past few days in regards to Yamato, Eito certainly didn't expect that. So maybe nothing was up with Taichi at all?

"I'm really sorry . . . about what I said before, in the rent room . . ." Yamato apologised to Eito. He voiced it with uncertainty, because Eito hadn't given him permission to talk about that. However, his brother didn't seem to care either way, and just turned his attention back to the TV.

Yamato looked down at the floor dejectedly. He really missed their father. Before, he would go to school, get bullied by his brothers and other kids, but come home to the comfort of his father. Although the old man would often hit him, and sexually abuse him, Yamato also felt the closest thing to 'safety' with his father that he didn't feel with his brothers.

And then his father had died – and his life became even more of a nightmare.

But even then, since he was eleven, his life slowly became a routine he could handle: make breakfast, lunch and dinner, go to school, wash the dishes, do the laundry, clean the apartment, service his brothers and paying clients, and sleep.

Despite everything he did, he still had time to just be . . . normal. Or as close to normal as he could. He was never allowed to do much of anything, but when his brothers went shopping together and occasionally allowed him to tag along, he could easily pretend that he was one of them as they shopped together as a family. When his brothers watched TV, he'd sit and watch it with them, pretending he was just like them, sitting down as a family to watch a movie together.

Now, with the new rules, he felt more restricted and ashamed than ever.

Eito looked at the clock. "Go cook dinner," he ordered. "But Hideki's not letting you have dinner tonight, so go straight to bed when you're done."

Yamato nodded his head obediently. "May I also go to the bathroom before bed, Master?"

Eito was a little startled by the request, but nodded his head shortly afterwards. It was weird to him for Yamato to request permission to go to the bathroom. He headed out of the living room, but stopped short to tell Yamato some things.

"Don't service Ryu anymore, and . . . Yamato . . . you can keep the money Taichi gave you."

Yamato stared after Eito in surprise – and gratitude. It was little moments like this that gave him hope that his brothers still cared about him, in some way. And that's what he clung to.

* * *

Taichi woke up earlier than usual the next morning, to avoid having to be around Yamato – or, rather, to avoid having to see his brothers mistreat Yamato. Taichi hadn't spoken a word to his brother since he had punched him – he was forcing himself to keep his distance from the blond, to keep himself from caring. He wasn't supposed to care.

"Hey, I'm gonna head to school early today," Taichi told his brothers, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. He wouldn't even look at Yamato as he made his way out of the kitchen.

A chorus of 'byes' were said by his older brothers.

"Meet me in the top floor computer lab at recess, OK?" Eito called out after his retreating back.

"Yeah, OK," Taichi replied without a glance back. "See ya." He disappeared from sight.

"Hey, do you want some, Pup?" Toru smirked down at Yamato. He grabbed one boiled egg from his plate and held his hand out, offering it to the blond.

Yamato didn't know if it was a trick, but he  _did_  want it – especially as he apparently wasn't going to be eating their leftovers from now on . . .

"Yes, please, Master," Yamato answered, reaching out a hand to take the egg from Toru – only to have Toru pull his hand back.

"No," Toru chastised him with a mocking grin. "Dogs don't have hands, do they? Eat it out of my hand, Pup."

Yamato stayed still for a moment, feeling his cheeks heat up, before moving his head forward so that he could eat the egg out of Toru's hand.

Toru sniggered as he watched Yamato chew the egg in his palm. Eito watched silently, a little surprised that Toru was actually treating Yamato so much like a dog. But Hideki continued reading his newspaper as though nothing was out of the ordinary.

When Yamato had finished eating, Toru got up and washed his hand, before grabbing a can of dog food and a bag of dry kibble. He opened the can and dumped its contents into a dog bowl, then added the dry kibble to the mix as well.

"Breakfast is ready," Toru told Yamato with a grin. "Don't you feel lucky that I actually went to the store last night to make sure you had breakfast this morning?"

Yamato didn't feel lucky at all as he looked at the dog food. He didn't  _have_  to eat it if he didn't want to, right? If he didn't eat it, it just meant he didn't eat . . .

"I . . . I'm not hungry," Yamato told Toru quietly.

Toru snorted. "Bullshit, you're starving."

He was. But he didn't want to eat  _that_.

"Can I please go to the toilet, Master?" Yamato asked, hoping to change the subject. "I haven't peed this morning . . ."

Toru raised an eyebrow at Yamato's obvious attempt to get out of eating dog food, but then broke out into a grin as an idea hit him. "Why don't you go in your food?"

Yamato's eyes lit up in alarm. ". . . Why?"

"Because I want you to," Toru told him, eyes narrowed.

Yamato's cheeks reddened, and he turned to look down at his food. He hovered over it and directed his penis towards it, and tried to relieve himself, but after a minute not a drop had come out.

"I . . . I can't seem to go . . ." Yamato voiced, embarrassed.

Toru snorted. "Why? Because we're watching? You're a  _dog_ , faggot. You have no dignity. Now hurry the fuck up and piss before we  _all_  piss down your throat."

Yamato forced himself to try to forget his brothers were watching, and concentrated on going. After a few seconds, a light stream of urine flowed out of his penis and into his bowl of food. But due to the food, he could only get some of his urine out before the bowl was close to overflowing. He looked up at Toru to tell him that, but Toru knew what he was going to say.

"Finish pissing in the other bowl," Toru told him.

Yamato did as told. When he was done, one bowl was filled with dog food and urine, and the other just urine.

"Now eat up," Toru grinned, a glint in his eye.

Yamato slowly lowered his head towards the bowl filled with canned dog food and dry kibble, mixed with his own urine. The smell was terrible. He did not want to do this. He looked back up at Toru, whose facial expression dared him to object.

Yamato looked back down at his food.

_If I obey them like this for a little while, they'll lift the new rules . . . Hideki did imply they would . . ._

Yamato reluctantly forced himself to take one mouthful of the retched stuff.

_Don't think about it . . . don't think about it . . ._

But he couldn't get the thought that he was eating dog food out of his head, which perhaps made it taste more awful to him than it really was. He forced himself to chew down on the stuff, its consistency almost making him vomit. He breathed through his nose and the smell hit him again, making it all the more difficult to swallow.

"Go on," Toru urged him on with a smug grin. "The bigger the bite, the sooner you finish, Pup. And you better finish it, or else."

Yamato forced the putrid stuff to go down his throat, but some of it remained, stuck on his teeth and tongue. He wanted to wash the stuff down with some water but, looking at the bowl of his own urine, that really wasn't appealing.

"I can't believe he's actually eating that crap," Toru voiced to his brothers around the table, amused. Yamato had gone in for his second mouthful. "What a fucking loser."

"It's not like he has a choice," Eito murmured, watching Yamato slowly swallow another mouthful. The blond looked like he was trying hard not to vomit. Eito turned away so that he wouldn't, either.

"He's obedient," Hideki remarked, peering down over his newspaper to look at Yamato. "For once."

That little comment from Hideki gave Yamato more motivation to finish the bowl. He really wanted things to go back to the way they were, and he desperately needed his brothers to know that he  _was_  obedient. He went in for another mouthful. And another. And another.

Pretty soon, Yamato was lapping up the remains of his urine in the first bowl, and moved onto the second. His nose and some of his hair dipped into the bowl of urine as he drank. Because he had to lap it up, it took a lot longer than if he'd been able to lift the bowl up with his hands and drink out of it like a cup.

Eventually, he was done, and he looked up at his brothers expectantly.

"Good boy," Toru told him with a laugh, looking highly amused.

"Shower, now," Hideki said absently.

Yamato did as told.

* * *

Approaching the school gates, Yamato was surprised to find Ken waiting for him. After all, Taichi had left for school a while ago, and Yamato was thus alone . . . so Ken was waiting  _solely_  for him?

"What happened to you?" Ken frowned. This was getting to be like déjà vu.

"A third-year boy hit me," Yamato answered. Actually, Ryu wasn't responsible for the visible bruise he had on his nose – that was actually courtesy of Taichi – but he couldn't say that. And Ryu  _had_  attacked him yesterday, after all, so he thought it wasn't a  _total_  lie.

"Ryu?" Ken asked, frowning still as he automatically lifted his hand to inspect Yamato's face. "He hit you as well? Taichi told me he got into a fight with Ryu yesterday, but he didn't mention you were involved."

Yamato could feel his pulse quicken a little upon Ken's touch. He was surprised by the contact – but he also . . . liked it. He nodded. "I'm OK, though . . ."

"Well, that's good . . . at least." Ken lowered his hand. "Are you going to accompany me to my brother's apartment after school?" he asked hopefully.

Yamato gave him a shy smile. He knew he was, surprisingly, free for the afternoon. "Yes."

Ken's grin got exponentially bigger.

* * *

Taichi entered the school's top floor computer lab at recess and scanned the room. There were only a few people occupying the room with him, including a girl with purple hair and a redheaded geek with outrageously thick eyebrows – but no Eito. Taichi chose a computer at the back of the room, furthest away from everyone else, although he noticed they all seemed to be using earphones anyway, so that was a plus.

Taking a look around the room to check that no one was looking his way, he opened up Google in a browser. He hesitated for a few seconds, once again looking around the room to check that no one present was paying any attention to him. Confident that no one was, he typed three words into the search engine:  _incest laws japan_.

Taichi started opening link after link and skimming their content. After a few minutes of this, he'd read from several different websites that  _marriage_  between siblings was definitely illegal, but that otherwise – surprisingly,  _shockingly_  – there was no law against siblings being in relationships . . .

"What the fuck," Taichi muttered under his breath. He knew incest was  _definitely_  wrong, and yet, apparently his own country essentially allowed incest – just as long as you didn't marry your sibling.

"First cousins are allowed to marry?" Taichi mumbled quietly to himself as he read more information. He paused. When he thought about it, first cousins shared half of their blood . . . just like half-brothers. So, Yamato was more or less like a first cousin to him – and if the law allowed first cousins to marry, well . . .

Of course, Yamato  _wasn't_  his first cousin, but his half-brother. And they were both male. So marriage was out of the question – but he hadn't been thinking about marriage anyway. He just wanted it to be OK to feel attracted to Yamato.

But it made Taichi feel a little bit better to know that what he was feeling towards Yamato wasn't  _entirely_  wrong; in fact, it wasn't even illegal. He was  _allowed_  to have . . .  _sexual relations_. . . with his half-brother – there was no law against it.

Taichi took a deep sigh of relief, thinking over everything he had just read. Maybe there  _was_  a chance –

"Hey Taichi."

Taichi immediately closed the internet browser as Eito took a seat at the computer next to him. He cleared his throat, and hoped he didn't seem suspicious. "Hey. What's up? Why'd you want me here?" he asked, as coolly as he could.

"Just wanted to spend some quality time with my favourite brother."

Taichi snorted. "No, really."

Eito smirked and logged into the computer in front of him. "I have to schedule the next student government meetings around everyone's timetables."

"And . . . what does that have to do with me?" Taichi asked, confused.

"Nothing at all. I just wanted to . . . talk."

"About?"

"You. Yamato."

Taichi froze. Did Eito know? But how could he? "What about . . . me and Yamato?" he asked slowly.

Eito stopped tapping on his keyboard and turned to face Taichi. "Why did you hit him yesterday?" It was a question he'd wanted to ask Taichi, without Hideki or Toru around.

Oh. Was that all. "I need a reason?" Taichi tried to play it off casually.

Eito levelled him with a stare. "Well, you were so  _nice_  in giving him money, and then you turn around and hit him? It doesn't make sense."

Taichi paused, before shrugging. "The two aren't related. I hit him because he was crying over some bullshit."

"OK. And the money?"

Taichi didn't answer right away. "I gave him some money because . . ." he drew out slowly, ". . . he's still . . . our brother."

Eito actually seemed surprised by that answer. "Do you really believe that?" he asked.

Taichi shrugged his shoulders. "It's the truth." No matter how much he would've liked for Yamato  _not_  to have been their brother – so it would be completely OK for him to have the feelings he did – the blond still shared their blood, even if only half. Even his brothers couldn't deny that.

Eito stared at Taichi at length. "Technically, I suppose," he finally said. "But . . . not like us, Taichi."

"And whose fault is that?" Taichi found himself saying. He always found it hard to filter himself – especially around this particular brother.

Eito shot him a confused look. "Yamato's . . ."

Taichi considered biting his tongue. Really. But . . . nope. "Yeah," he voiced instead with sarcasm. "It was just his bad luck that Dad decided to squirt him into another woman."

Eito raised an eyebrow. He quickly glanced around the room to make sure no one was listening in on them – and no one was, as they all still had headphones on. He kept his voice down anyway. "It's more complicated than that, and you know it."

Well, the damage was done. "It's actually pretty fucking simple," Taichi retorted, going all in. "Yamato was the  _result_  of Dad  _choosing_  to cheat on Mum. How is that his fault?"

Eito didn't respond right away. Instead, he sat back in his chair, and looked at Taichi as though everything suddenly made sense to him. "Is this what this past week has been about?" he asked. "You've been acting weird all week because you don't think it was his fault?"

Taichi was a little alarmed Eito had noticed his odd behaviour, but shrugged it off. "It's  _not_  his fault," he insisted. "That's . . . a fact." And it  _was_. How could they have twisted that fact for so long?

"Maybe 'fault' is the wrong word . . . but he's the  _reason_  Mum . . . you know," Eito said.

"I know," Taichi said. "But how is that on him? He didn't ask to be born. And Mum didn't have to do what she did . . ."

"OK," Eito nodded, though his tone suggested that he didn't entirely agree. "Are you going to tell Hideki and Toru that?"

Taichi went silent.

"I thought so," Eito rolled his eyes.

Taichi sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "Remember when you  _didn't_  hate Yamato?"

Eito looked at him with tired eyes. "Vaguely. A really long time ago. But when I look at him now . . . I see a complete stranger," he told him. "One who happens to live under our roof."

"But you used to care about him," Taichi insisted. "Before Hideki and Toru told you not to."

"Honestly, Taichi . . ." Eito rubbed his neck. "It wasn't them – not at first. It was how Dad treated him. If your father shows you it's OK to treat someone like shit, you're going to treat them like shit. I can't blame Hideki and Toru for falling in line."

Taichi had to agree with him. "Dad was such a dick."

"And yet, still our dad," Eito sighed. "We can't change the past, Taichi."

The two brothers fell into silence after that, with Eito going back to his work on the computer. But Taichi couldn't stop thinking about Yamato and, now that he was idly staring at Eito's face, it struck him that his older brother had the same nose and mouth as Yamato. People always liked telling them how Yamato didn't look like any of them – and yet, on closer inspection, he did share similar features with Eito. Taichi had to admit that he thought Eito was easily the second best-looking amongst them – Yamato was first, of course – and yet . . . even though Taichi knew Eito was hot, thinking that he was made him want to vomit, because he was his  _brother_.

So why didn't he feel this way about Yamato? Was it because he didn't actually think of him as his brother . . . but as a complete stranger, as Eito had claimed? He had definitely thought of Yamato as his brother a decade ago, though. But maybe, over time, those brotherly feelings had washed away . . . and now Taichi was attracted to him. Great.

"Don't you ever feel sorry for him?" Taichi spoke up again, reclaiming Eito's attention.

Eito sighed and took a moment to answer. He thought about the money he had let Yamato keep. "Occasionally, I guess," he admitted, with some reluctance.

Taichi felt himself gain more confidence with that answer. "Well, I don't agree with what they're doing now."

"It's . . . a bit much," Eito agreed, his thoughts going over what he had witnessed that morning at breakfast. That had made him more uncomfortable than he would have liked. "But I think things will go back to normal soon."

"But what if they don't?" Taichi asked. "What if they just take things up another notch?"

Eito shook his head. "I don't think they will."

"But if they do . . ." Taichi trailed off. "Will you say something?"

Eito shrugged. Yamato wasn't someone he usually thought about. "Depends."

Taichi tried a different tactic. "What if it had been me, instead of Yamato, who had been born to a different mother?"

"But you weren't," Eito rebutted immediately.

"But what if I  _was_ ," Taichi stressed. "Would you treat me like that?"

Eito stared at Taichi. "If you had a different mother, you wouldn't even be  _you_. You'd be an entirely different person, so it doesn't matter how I'd treat you. So, yeah, I guess I would."

"What if it had been you?" Taichi persisted. "Would you want to be treated that way?"

"Of course not," Eito answered, with a roll of his eyes.

"Then why –"

Eito sighed deeply. "I get your point, Taichi, OK? But you're talking hypothetically, which means nothing you say actually matters. Because guess what? Yamato – and not me or you – has a different mother. That's just how the dice rolled."

Taichi couldn't refute that.

"Anyway, I trust Hideki," Eito told him. "I don't think he'd take things too far."

But Taichi could argue that he already had.

"I really have to finish scheduling this mess," Eito said, pointedly ending the discussion about Yamato. "See you at home."

Taichi, knowing he wasn't going to get anywhere, got up and headed out of the computer lab. Though the conversation hadn't ended the way he had wanted it to, he was pretty amazed he'd managed to talk about Yamato with Eito for as long as he had. He got the feeling that Eito wouldn't tell Hideki or Toru about their conversation, either. Eito had opened up to him, too, even if it was just a little.

It was progress.

* * *

Yamato looked absentmindedly at the sign-up sheets for various school clubs that littered the board. His eyes lingered a little longer on the swim club, but he made no move to sign up for anything. He wasn't allowed to, for starters. And it wasn't as though he could get away with showing his always beaten body in public.

"Hey," a voice came up from behind Yamato, startling him. He turned around and was greeted by the sight of the new guy he'd met yesterday – Takeru.

"Hi . . ." Yamato returned slowly. He wondered briefly, by habit, whether the guy was 'in' on his . . .  _services_. Maybe Taichi had said something . . . although Yamato didn't think it likely – not the Taichi of  _this_  week, anyway.

"Are you signing up for a club?" Takeru asked, glancing at the board in front of them.

"Oh . . . no . . ." Yamato replied, caught off-guard. "I'm just waiting for Ken. He's buying me lunch . . ."

Takeru looked into the cafeteria to see Ken almost at the front of the long line. "That's nice of him." His smile never seemed to fade, even despite Yamato's less than enthusiastic responses.

"Yeah . . ." Yamato nodded, blushing a little. Even though he had told Ken he had money for lunch (thanks to Taichi – and Eito), the other boy had insisted he not pay a yen.

"Hey, Ken mentioned to me that you write?" Takeru raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Is that true?"

Yamato paused, surprised. "Yes . . . but . . . poetry."

"That's awesome! I just got informed today that I got the gig to be one of the sports writers for the school newspaper."

"That's . . . good . . ." Yamato complimented him awkwardly; he had no idea why the guy was even talking to him. He'd already met Ken this week and was surprised by how genuinely nice he was – but to meet a second super nice person in a matter of days was more than a little out of the ordinary for him.

"Yeah, it is," Takeru beamed, unperturbed by Yamato's shyness. "And you know, the paper is always looking for contributions as well. So if you ever want to submit a poem or lyric or something to be published, just let me know."

"Oh . . . I . . ." Yamato began, flustered. His poetry was personal to him and he didn't want his brothers to know that he still even wrote poetry. They'd made fun of him for it a long time ago. "Maybe . . ." He didn't want to say 'no' to someone.

"No pressure or anything," Takeru told him, holding his hands up briefly, akin to a defence gesture. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But if you ever felt like sharing something, that would be great. Ken told me your stuff was good."

Takeru couldn't explain it, but for some reason he was drawn to the younger blond. He barely knew him, and yet, he was . . . curious about him. Yamato was so quiet, almost silent, yet Takeru could tell from his face that he had experienced a lot in his short life. Takeru liked to think he had a knack for spotting people who seemed interesting below the surface, as though they had hundreds of stories to tell, just waiting to be unearthed. It was like peeling the pages of a mystery novel – which Takeru personally adored doing.

But it was also more than just that. Maybe it was because Yamato was one of the few other mixed kids in the school, and so Takeru felt a sort of affinity with him? But the other boy also seemed strangely familiar to him, almost as though they had met once before, long ago. But Takeru knew that they hadn't – and it bugged him.

Yamato's cheeks reddened once again. "Oh . . . thanks . . ." He had shown Ken a few of his poems that he'd written at the back of his school books, and Ken had praised him for them like the nice guy he was, but it surprised Yamato that Ken had actually complimented his poetry to someone else.

Takeru grinned. "You said yesterday that you've been here your whole life, right?" Yamato nodded. "My mum grew up here, too. But she's so busy with work that she hasn't had time to show me around yet. If you're free this afternoon, would you mind showing me around?"

Yamato looked completely surprised by his request. "Oh . . . um . . . I'm going over to Ken's this afternoon . . . Sorry."

"Next time, then." Takeru's smile seemed to be permanently etched on his face.

Yamato nodded his head slowly, to be polite. But he wondered, again, if Taichi had said something to this guy. Still, Takeru was being really nice for someone who just wanted his services.

* * *

Taichi's eyes followed the group of guys running around the soccer field.

Most of the new boys trying out for the soccer team this afternoon were first-years, but there were some second and third-years as well. Their first test was to run a mile in less than six minutes. If you're over, you get cut. Simple as that. Taichi remembered trying out last year and coming in at well under five minutes. Obviously, he'd made the team.

Whilst Coach Ono was conducting try-outs for the new boys, he had told his existing soccer team to run sprints, with Sho Tanaka in charge. So Taichi and his teammates were doing a sprinting exercise, from point A to point B and back again. Practice mostly consisted of running because you needed to be fit and fast to make it in soccer.

Soccer used to be able to take Taichi's mind off anything. But, as he stood idly on the grass field, his favourite sport just wasn't cutting it.

He kept thinking about Yamato. And Ken.

"Ken's late," Daisuke ran up beside him as he came to a stop at one end.

Taichi snorted. "He's more than late. He's completely missing practice."

"But he's not absent, so he should be here."

"So why isn't he?" Taichi asked, more rhetoric than anything. Daisuke didn't answer.

Taichi didn't care that Ken was missing practice – what he cared about was the fact that he had a feeling that wherever Ken was, Yamato was probably with him. And that annoyed him.  _Greatly_.

"Why have you guys stopped? Keep sprinting!" Sho scolded as he came to a stop in front of them. Without even waiting for the one minute they were supposed to take to catch their breath between sprints, he took off again towards the other end.

"He's so fucking tall he'd be better as goalie than centre forward," Taichi grumbled to Daisuke, ignoring Sho's instructions completely. "And I lead better than him."

Coach Ono's whistle blew, signalling that six minutes was up and those who hadn't run the mile were cut. Taichi quickly counted the guys who had made it before the time limit was up, and there was a good thirteen of them out of the fifty or so who had come to try out. The number was up from last year by two.

Although, most first-year recruits shouldn't expect to actually play a proper game this year. Most of them will just play at practice and warm the benches. Fortunately for Taichi though, he had been talented enough to play games last year.

Sho made it back to their end again. "Where's Ichijouji?" he frowned. "He's missing our first practice."

"It's not like he's missing much," Daisuke defended his friend's absence. "First practice is mostly about try-outs, anyway."

"That doesn't mean those of us already on the team can slack off," Sho glared at the two of them. "Now move." He ran off again.

Taichi and Daisuke looked at each other wearily before following their 'captain' in doing sprints.

 _Maybe I should quit soccer_ , Taichi thought as he ran.  _It's not as fun as it used to be._

* * *

Ken gave Yamato a grin, soaking in the thought that Yamato was actually  _here_  with  _him_ , as he knocked on the door of his brother's apartment. It only took a minute for the door to open, and his older brother stood beaming before them.

"So this is the infamous Yamato," Osamu said in greeting as he held out his hand for the blond to shake. Yamato was surprised by both Osamu's speech and action, and took the older male's hand after a slight pause. "Ken's been going on and on about you," Osamu continued. "You'd think you were a celebrity or something!"

"Osamu!" Ken reddened in embarrassment, before giving Yamato a small, shy smile.

Osamu laughed. "He  _really_  likes you."

It was Yamato's turn to blush. Ken liked him? Ken's brother must be joking . . .

Ken pushed his brother a little, in pretend anger. "Cut it out, Osamu." The elder brother just smirked, and pushed Ken right back.

Yamato already liked the relationship between the two brothers – it was obvious from their interaction that they were close. He felt envious, but not in a malicious way – he just wished he had that relationship with his brothers. Of course, he used to – long ago, with one of them . . .

Yamato mentally shook his head. Thinking about those days always made him sad at how much things had changed.

"Come on Yamato, my room's this way," Ken gently grabbed Yamato's wrist and pulled him towards his bedroom in the apartment. "Leave us alone, Osamu," he called over his shoulder at his brother in good-bye.

Osamu chuckled as he watched his younger brother lead his crush to his bedroom. This Yamato was the first boy Ken had actually really crushed on. It was cute, and Osamu was happy for his little brother.

Yamato looked around Ken's bedroom in his brother's apartment. It was a basic room with a bed and a desk, but not much else really; it was obvious that this wasn't Ken's real room, but a secondary space for the teenager to dwell in.

"It's nothing fancy," Ken spoke up as he watched Yamato take in his room. "But I have a lot of privacy here that I don't have at home with my parents."

Yamato nodded. "It's nice," he said softly. He wished he had a room to himself, even if just a small one.

"Thanks," Ken smiled. "Well, sit down, please." He gestured at his bed as he himself took a seat on the edge of it.

Yamato took a seat next to him. "I like your brother."

Ken chuckled. "Yeah, he's all right. And I like  _your_  brother, too, by the way."

Yamato's thoughts lingered back to Taichi at that comment, and he subtly nodded his head, thinking about how weird Taichi had been lately. "He's all right," he echoed Ken.

Ken chuckled. "He's probably going to be mad at me for missing soccer practice this afternoon."

Yamato's face instantly crinkled in worry. "You're missing practice?" He stood up. "You should go –"

"No," Ken shook his head, grabbing Yamato's wrist and pulling him back down onto the bed. "I'd much rather be here. With  _you_." Ken gave him a meaningful look that made Yamato's heart skip a beat.

"I . . . I just don't want Taichi to get mad at you," Yamato replied, unsure. He  _liked_  that Ken wanted to be around him, but he didn't want Ken to be on the end of an angry tirade from Taichi. He knew how explosive he could be.

"Yamato, it doesn't matter," Ken insisted. "Taichi will get over it. I'm sure it won't even be a problem. Relax, OK?" Yamato still looked unsure, but slowly nodded his head.

Ken smiled. "Anyway, remember when you said you'd sing for me sometime?" Ken looked at him hopefully.

"I don't know . . ." Yamato trailed off, self-consciously. He was surprised Ken had even remembered. He started to get nervous.

"Oh, come on," Ken encouraged, smiling gently. "Please? I would really like to hear you sing."

Yamato looked at Ken's always kind face; this was the guy who had brightened up his day since the start of the week. If he was going to sing for someone, it would be him. He could do it. "OK," he nodded.

Ken clapped his hands together, his grin wide. "Excellent!"

Yamato gave him a shy smile, a light blush covering his cheeks. "I'm not that good, so I apologise –"

"Yamato, don't," Ken told him gently, with a smile. "I'll enjoy it, because you  _tried_."

Yamato closed his mouth at Ken's kind words. He gave him another smile. Then he parted his lips and started singing 'Hurt' by American country legend Johnny Cash.

" _I hurt myself today, to see if I still feel. I focus on the pain, the only thing that's real . . ._ "

He'd seen the music video on TV once and the imagery, sound and translation on the screen really resonated with him. He had looked the song up in the school library to learn it. He liked the fact that it was in another language because, though he never sung in front of anyone, he felt safer knowing no one would know what he was singing if they did hear him.

Ken didn't know the song, and as it was in English he didn't even understand it – but Yamato's voice was so soft and sad as he sung. The emotion behind the blond's voice didn't escape his attention, and he listened intently. He could tell Yamato had been nervous at the start of the song, but as he went on, he could feel the other boy get completely lost in what he was singing. It was captivating to witness.

". . .  _If I could start again, a million miles away. I will keep myself, I would find a way._ "

That was the first time Yamato ever laid down his soul in front of anyone. Music, to him, was so intimate, so pure. It was the only thing in the world that made him feel  _free_.

And he had just sung in front of Ken. He didn't know whether the other boy was judging him. But when he looked up and met Ken's gaze, the other boy's eyes were in absolute awe.

"Wow," Ken simply said. He hadn't expected Yamato to be that talented. But the emotion in his voice conveyed so much pain. "You're really talented, Yamato," Ken added. "And I'm not just saying that. You really are."

Yamato blushed. "Thank you . . ." He could feel his heart leaping with joy. He remembered how it had felt when his dad would praise him every now and then about his abilities with the harmonica. It had been such a long time.

Ken grinned. This was the perfect opportunity to give Yamato his present. "Though I do believe a musician needs more than just his voice."

Yamato looked at him, puzzled.

Ken got off his bed and bent down to retrieve something from underneath it. He pulled out a familiar acoustic guitar. "This is a gift," Ken said, offering Yamato the wooden instrument. "For you."

Yamato looked at him with wide eyes. It was the acoustic guitar he had looked at with Ken a few days ago. "Ken . . . I can't . . . Why . . .?" Yamato was at a loss for words.

"You wanted it," Ken simply replied. "And you turned sixteen a few weeks ago, right? That's a big milestone. Happy birthday. I wish I had been there to celebrate it with you."

Yamato's eyes began to water. "Take it back – please . . . Ken, it's expensive, and I can't –"

"Yamato," Ken said softly, but firmly, placing a hand on the blond's arm. "You deserve it. It's yours. Keep it."

Yamato blinked back his tears. He couldn't believe Ken was being so kind to him – not just kind, but so extraordinarily generous. And, even though he knew he'd have to surrender the guitar to his brothers, it was just the thought from Ken alone that overwhelmed him.

He hadn't felt worthy of something in a long, long time. Maybe not ever. And here Ken was, just giving him a guitar that cost as much as Yamato could hope to accumulate in almost half a year – if he went that entire time without eating anything.

Ken was a little taken aback by Yamato's tears, and he'd picked up on Yamato being sensitive and emotional, but even he hadn't expected a reaction like this. Yamato seemed so shocked, as though no one had ever given him a present before.

Yamato leaned forward suddenly and placed a quick kiss on Ken's lips, before pulling back just as quickly – to see if Ken had minded. He'd never wanted to kiss anybody before, and he wasn't even sure if he was allowed to – he probably wasn't . . .

Ken's eyes were wide open in surprise as he registered what Yamato had done, and the two looked at each other for a few silent moments. Then Ken slowly grabbed the guitar between them and placed it carefully on the ground below. Yamato watched, anticipating the other boy's reaction, as Ken then reached both hands out and grabbed Yamato's shoulders.

Ken kissed him.

And Yamato kissed him back.

Their contact was soft at first, and sweet, but became more intimate as it went on. One of Yamato's hands had rested lightly on Ken's thigh as their make-out session deepened, and Ken  _definitely_  noticed when said hand eventually found its way to rest lightly on his crotch.

Ken pulled back from Yamato a little, breaking their kiss, breathing heavily as he stared back at brilliant blue eyes.

"Yamato . . ." Ken started, more than a little surprised. He found it strange that Yamato seemed so . . .  _forward_ , sexually, when his whole demeanour and personality said the opposite. "This is too quick – I . . . I don't want to force you into anything . . ."

 _Force?_  Yamato shook his head. So many people  _forced_  him to do things – but Ken? No, the other boy wasn't forcing him at all. He  _wanted_  to please him – to thank him, for being who he was. He was so  _nice_  to him.

"I want to," Yamato told him quietly.

Ken was at a loss for words. He knew from the other boy's expression that he was being completely serious. "I . . . I don't have a condom," Ken finally said. He briefly thought about asking Osamu for a condom – but then threw that thought away. He did  _not_  want his brother to know he was thinking about having sexual relations with a guy on the  _first date_.

But Yamato didn't back down. "That's OK . . . just head . . .?" Usually, even for oral, Yamato would've expected the use of a condom. That's the rule his brothers had put in place for him – the only time condoms weren't necessary were when he was performing oral on his brothers. But . . . well, Yamato  _liked_  Ken. He wanted to do this for him. "I don't mind . . ."

Most of the guys Ken knew didn't bother with condoms for oral sex – if he believed all their stories – but Ken always thought he'd be the cautious type. STDs can still pass via oral sex. But Ken knew  _he'd_  never had a sex partner before, and there was a slim chance he was carrying any disease . . . and, besides, this must be Yamato's first time too. Right?

And, Ken had to be honest, he didn't actually  _want_  to refuse the other boy. He was still a hormonal seventeen-year-old boy, after all.

And Yamato was ridiculously hot.

". . . OK," Ken finally agreed.

Yamato smiled at him. Slowly, he opened the front of Ken's pants. He could sense the older boy's nervousness. But he was used to this from a lot of the men he had pleasured for their first times as well, and proceeded to slowly pull down Ken's underwear, exposing his manhood.

Ken had  _never_  been naked in front of another guy before – after soccer practice, in the showers, some of the guys would walk around naked, like Taichi, but Ken always covered up. And, this was  _Yamato_  – he was Taichi's brother, so he knew he was well-endowed. But Ken knew that  _he_  wasn't, and was nervous of what Yamato would think of his size. He wasn't  _small_  – at least, he didn't think so – but compared to Yamato, he knew he would be . . .

Yamato took a moment to look at the flaccid penis before him; it was a nice size and shape and, more importantly, it had the fortune of being  _Ken's_. He glanced up at its black-haired owner, giving Ken another smile to help ease his nerves, before taking the older boy's organ into his mouth.

Ken clenched his teeth.  _Shit_. It was already so much better than his hand. No amount of masturbation could've prepared him for the feeling of being inside someone's hot, wet mouth. And not just anyone's mouth, but the mouth of the most gorgeous guy he knew. He watched between his own moans as Yamato continued to make him feel a lot better than he'd ever felt before.

And then Ken came.

He had forgotten to alert Yamato that he was close so that the blond could pull away. But Yamato didn't seem to mind – the younger boy was swallowing his semen without a hitch, turning Ken on even more. This was legitimately the most amazing day of Ken's life.

"That . . . that wasn't your first time, was it?" Ken finally asked, after he'd recovered from his orgasm.

Yamato paused, looking a little surprised at the question, before shaking his head.

_And here I thought he was new to everything like I was . . ._

Ken felt inexperienced now. He wanted to ask Yamato how many guys he'd done stuff like this with, but thought the question would be rude, and so didn't. It wasn't his place to ask. Was it?

Ken sat up, tucking his penis back into his underwear and pants. "It's your turn . . ."

Yamato paused in surprise. He hadn't expected Ken to want to return the favour.

"Yamato . . . can I?" Ken prompted, his eyes gentle.

Yamato shook his head lightly. "You . . . you don't have to if you don't want to. I'll understand . . ." It was also one thing for him to pleasure Ken, but for  _Ken_  to pleasure  _him_? Not many of the men he pleasured actually did it back, so he didn't want Ken to think he had to.

"But I want to," Ken told him. "I  _definitely_  want to."

Yamato blushed faintly at the way Ken was looking at him. Slowly, he nodded his head. "OK," he whispered.

Ken grinned and leaned forward and gently guided Yamato down so that they swapped positions. Yamato now lay on his back on Ken's bed as Ken knelt on the lower half of his bed, between Yamato's legs.

Ken gave him a shy, gentle smile. "I hope I do OK . . ." Yamato returned the shy smile as Ken began to unzip his school pants.

Ken was at first surprised that Yamato wasn't wearing any underwear, but that became an afterthought as he fully released Yamato's penis from its confines – and it was fucking gorgeous, just like him. Its flaccid length was long, and thick – really thick. Ken thought for sure that its circumference was almost that of a can of Red Bull.

". . . You're circumcised," Ken found himself saying as he observed the blond's manhood. There weren't that many boys in Japan who were circumcised, so Ken was a little surprised. He knew Taichi wasn't.

"Yeah . . ." Yamato answered, not knowing what to say. He always knew he was different, because none of his brothers were circumcised, and the vast majority of men he'd been intimate with hadn't been circumcised, either.

"You're beautiful," Ken murmured, his gaze rising from Yamato's penis to meet his eyes.

Yamato blushed.

Ken grinned and looked back at Yamato's penis. "If I do anything wrong, just tell me. This is my first time, so . . ." He trailed off as he lowered himself down to the level of Yamato's appendage. He used his right hand to fondle Yamato's length a little – enjoying the feeling of having another guy's penis in his hand – before using his mouth to enclose around the head.

Ken knew he wasn't going to be able to deep throat Yamato the way Yamato had done him, so instead, he just focussed on the head and a bit of the blond's shaft.

_No teeth, it's all about the tongue, the underside of the penis should be the most sensitive . . ._

Ken's mind raced through instructions he'd read on the internet about performing oral on a guy. He hoped he'd manage to pull off a somewhat decent performance. He protected Yamato from his teeth as much as possible, using his tongue as a pad underneath Yamato's penis, and slowly started to move his head a little up and down on as much of Yamato's penis that would go in his mouth as possible. When he felt comfortable enough with the action, he sped up his pace.

 _I can't believe I have Yamato's_  dick  _in my mouth._

The thought turned him on more than he thought possible. He never knew performing oral on another guy could be  _just_  as good as receiving oral. Pleasing Yamato was turning  _him_  on.

Ken went at it for several minutes, sucking as much as he could, egged on by Yamato's sounds of heavy breathing.

"Ken . . ." Yamato spoke, letting the other boy know he was close.

Ken focussed on the head of Yamato's penis with his tongue, trying to mimic the swirling motion Yamato had done on his own penis, while he brought a hand up to stroke the length of the blond's cock. Ken could literally  _feel_  the head of Yamato's penis harden in his mouth – and shortly thereafter, a milky white substance expelled into his oral cavity.

Yamato tasted . . . salty. It wasn't bad, and the fact that it came from Yamato made Ken swallow it without difficulty. It was actually kinda . . . nice. Definitely different to anything he had tasted before – but nice. He moved up from the blond's penis to his face, giving him a kiss on the cheek before resting his head beside him.

"Thank you," Yamato whispered into the other boy's ear.

"Thank  _you_ ," Ken whispered back.

The two boys mirrored one another's smiles.

* * *

Taichi had decided to go over Daisuke's apartment after soccer practice to hang out and have dinner. Well, he really just wanted to be far, far away from his own apartment and the activities that may be occurring there. He also . . . really wanted to talk to someone about his sexuality – and his feelings for Yamato. He had  _really_  wanted to talk to Eito about his sexuality – but he couldn't risk his brother putting two and two together. He was too smart.

So Daisuke was his next best choice.

The other brunet had been his best friend since – well, since forever. And yesterday, Daisuke hadn't even blinked in suggesting that their mutual friend Ken was gay. Taichi had never thought his friend was so tolerant – not that homosexuals ever came up in their discussions. Until yesterday, that is.

"I want to tell you something," Taichi began, feeling nervous, even though he was sure Daisuke would be OK with it because of what he had said about Ken yesterday. But Taichi had only just recently admitted to himself that he was gay, so this was still a big deal for him. "It's . . . important."

"Shoot," Daisuke nodded his head, giving his friend his complete attention. He could talk about serious things, too. "Go ahead."

Taichi hesitated a little. "I think . . ." He paused, levelling Daisuke with a look. "I think I might be . . .  _gay_." He held his breath as he waited for Daisuke's reaction.

Daisuke's eyebrows rose in absolute shock as his eyes bulged and scanned Taichi's face for any hint of it being a joke. There was none. ". . . Oh." He ran his hand through his hair, glancing down at the ground awkwardly before looking back up at Taichi, who was staring back at him intently. "Oh," he repeated, not quite sure what to say. "But . . . but what about Meiko?"

Taichi was surprised at the mention of his long-ago ex-girlfriend. "Meiko was . . . nothing, dude. I was never really . . . into her."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

Silence.

"But are you . . . I mean . . . really?" Daisuke asked, still surprised beyond belief. "Are you sure?"

Taichi shrugged his shoulders, glad that Daisuke hadn't flipped out on him in disgust – a small corner of his mind had been worried about that. "I don't know. Maybe. Probably? I think so . . ." He looked lost. "This is confusing for me, dude."

Daisuke slowly nodded his head, as though he was actively trying to get used to the idea. "Well . . . it's cool, you know. I'm just . . . surprised.  _Really_  surprised. But it's cool . . . I didn't think . . . but, yeah, it's cool." He gave his best friend his most supportive grin.

Taichi cracked a smile back. "Thanks man." He felt awesome to have finally told  _someone_. Someone else knew he was gay – and was totally OK with it. A huge wave of relief washed over him. He knew he could count on Daisuke.

Daisuke shrugged nonchalantly, trying to lift some of the seriousness around Taichi's confession. "Hey, maybe you should hook up with Ken," he smirked, obviously joking.

Taichi responded to that with his middle finger – but also a grin. It was a nice segue. "Actually – and I don't want to freak you out so soon or anything – so I hope it's OK if we talk about this," he began, his nervousness creeping back into his voice. "But . . . I sort of . . .  _like_  someone." Usually, he'd definitely be talking to Eito about matters so personal to him, but as he was talking about Yamato – well, talking to Eito was out the question.

Daisuke's expression suddenly got a little concerned with that admission. "It's . . . it's not me, is it?"

"W-what!?" Taichi sputtered, floored. "Of – of course not! You're my best friend –" He looked at him incredulously. "What the hell, Daisuke?"

"Well, you just told me you were gay so – well, you know!" Daisuke said defensively, his face showing relief and a little embarrassment. "But OK. That's good."

Taichi didn't find Daisuke even remotely attractive, so he still had a slightly horrified look on his face. "OK," he continued, once he got over the shock of what his friend had said. "So, I like someone. But, the thing is – I can't be with him."

Daisuke's brows furrowed. "Because you're not . . .  _out_?"

"No. Well, yes." Taichi looked a little mixed up. "But . . . look, there's just some stuff in the way. I can't . . .  _be_  with him. But I want to be. So . . . give me your advice." Taichi knew Daisuke wasn't really the best at giving advice, but he was desperate for a second opinion.

Daisuke still looked confused, but simply asked, "You like him?"

"Yeah."

"Then just go for it, dude."

"But I can't," Taichi insisted. "It's complicated, OK? No one can find out I like him."

Daisuke was at a dead end. What did Taichi want him to say, then? "Does being gay change who you are?" he asked.

Taichi frowned. "No. It doesn't."

"Well . . ." Daisuke shrugged. "I've never known anything to stop you from getting what you want, man. So if you like this guy – just go for it?"

That remark surprised Taichi. His confusion over his sexuality and his feelings for Yamato – his  _brother_  – had clouded his thoughts. It was as though he had forgotten who he was.

"Thanks, Daisuke," Taichi found himself saying.

"What for?" his best friend asked.

Taichi just grinned in response.

* * *

Yamato stood outside his apartment door, taking a moment to prepare himself to go in, as he always did after school. The high he'd felt from what had happened with Ken had slowly come down as he got closer and closer to his apartment building. Now, standing in front of the door, he could feel the all too familiar feeling of dread. Only this time, it was ten-fold – because he knew exactly what awaited him.

Suddenly the familiar 'ding' of the elevator a short distance away caught his attention, and he looked over to see Eito walking towards him. Well, it was time to go in.

Eito stopped next to Yamato in front of their apartment door. He would often find Yamato loitering outside, delaying his entrance as long as possible. Eito couldn't really blame him. He noticed that Yamato was holding a guitar, and raised an eyebrow. "Where'd you get that?"

Yamato knew he'd have to give it up to his brothers. "Ken gave it to me."

"Taichi's friend?" Eito asked. Yamato nodded. "Why?" He was genuinely curious.

Yamato had decided that he couldn't tell his brothers the truth – that Ken had given it to him for his birthday – because that would lead to them asking why and, eventually, him outing Ken. He couldn't do that to him. "As payment, for oral," he told Eito instead.

Eito looked sceptical. "You are talking about Taichi's friend, Ken, the kid who was here the other day?" Yamato nodded again. But Eito really didn't think Ken was the type to use Yamato; he seemed like a good kid. And there was no way Hideki would believe Yamato's story, either.

So . . . Yamato was making friends now? Eito didn't even think that was possible. He didn't think Yamato had the social skills to make any type of connections with people. And yet, the blond had obviously made a connection with Taichi's friend . . .

Usually, Eito would have pressed Yamato for the truth. But he found himself letting it go – for some reason. Taichi's annoying voice was echoing in his mind.

Eito held his hand out for the guitar. "Give it to me." Yamato gave Eito the wooden instrument without a word. "Open the door."

Slowly, reluctantly, Yamato took out his key and did as told. Once both of them were inside and the door was closed, Yamato began obediently taking his school backpack and uniform off, placing them on the coat hanger by the door. There were two objects already hanging on it that didn't escape his attention, however. He really didn't want to be here. Yamato swallowed, but forced himself to look away from the items as he got onto his hands and knees, completely naked. Eito had watched him silently.

Toru, having heard them enter, now joined them. "Welcome home!" He grabbed the stuff he'd stashed earlier on the coat hanger – a red collar and leash. "I bought these for you this afternoon," he smirked, as he put the collar on around Yamato's neck. "I even paid for a dog tag with your name on it. I thought about whether to use 'Yamato' or 'Pup' – and went with what I think would humiliate you more. 'Yamato'." He laughed.

"That cost you, what, an extra 1,000 yen? You went all out, Toru," Eito said dryly.

Toru just smirked at him. "The tag has our phone number on the back, too. So people can call us if he goes missing!" Eito rolled his eyes. Toru turned his attention back to Yamato. "Your collar stays on you at all times in here, you got that?" Toru told him. Yamato nodded sadly. "Good." He clipped the leash onto the blond's collar, and stood up. "Now come along, Pup." He tugged at the leash, and started 'walking' Yamato to the living room.

"Check this out," Toru said with a wide grin, as he entered the living room with Yamato in tow. He was addressing Hideki. "Pretty neat, eh?"

Hideki peered down at Yamato from his seat on the couch. "Yeah, neat." Yamato flushed a deep red in his presence, being the way he was, and avoided eye contact.

"Too bad I can't take him for a walk outside," Toru sneered. "I bet the faggot would  _love_  having people see him like this. Fags get off on this shit."

The red on Yamato's face did not lessen, but he was thankful that Toru would never take him outside like this.

"What's with the guitar?" Hideki then asked, looking at Eito.

Eito glanced at the instrument in his hands too. He shrugged. "I thought I'd start learning something new."

Yamato looked at him with faint surprise. Eito was lying . . . to cover for him? But why?

"Well good luck," Hideki encouraged his younger brother. "I'm sure it'll be a breeze for you, just like everything else."

"Thanks," Eito said, ignoring Yamato's eyes on him. He wasn't entirely sure why he was lying for Yamato, but he really didn't want to think about it either.  _Damn Taichi._

"Good for you," Toru added hurriedly, not giving a shit about Eito's new hobby. He looked at Yamato. "I have more gifts for you, Pup." He pulled hard on the leash and gestured at some objects on the coffee table in front of them. Yamato's heart sank as he looked at the items. "Are you clean?" Toru asked.

"Yes . . ." Yamato replied slowly. He had to clean himself back there all the time – and Toru knew that.

"We'll see about that," Toru told him lazily, pushing Yamato's head to the ground so that his face was practically on the floor. "Stay there. Stick your arse up."

Yamato did as told and Toru grabbed the unopened bottle of Coke he'd placed earlier on the coffee table. Flashing a grin at Hideki's slightly amused face, he began to shake the bottle.

Eito, catching on to what Toru was going to do, shook his head. "It's gonna spill out, Toru. You're gonna make a mess."

" _I'm_  not gonna make a mess," Toru retorted with a snort. "Pup is." He stopped shaking the bottle and brought it down right before Yamato's anus and, as quickly as he could, uncapped the lid and shoved the neck of the bottle into Yamato's anus.

Of course, no one could be quick enough so that no Coke escaped – some of the brown liquid fizzed down Yamato's back before the rest of the liquid was blocked off by his anus. Yamato could feel the soda running down his back and even on –  _in?_  – his arse.

"Suck the Coke in," Toru commanded, pushing the neck of the bottle deeper inside Yamato's anus.

Yamato tried to, and perhaps even emptied the bottle slightly, but it was obvious that the bulk of the Coke wasn't going inside him. Toru merely laughed and removed the half-empty bottle of Coke from Yamato's buttocks, making some Coke dribble out of his arse. He tugged at the leash to bring Yamato's head up off the ground.

"Drink what's left," Toru told Yamato, shoving the neck of the bottle into Yamato's mouth. "It's been in your arse but it's still got to be better than piss." Toru laughed as Yamato obediently began drinking the Coke. Then he smirked as another idea hit him. "Hey, guys, we should make him our urinal."

Eito lifted a weary eyebrow. "You had your fun, Toru."

"But I'm just getting started," Toru said coolly. "I think Pup should only be allowed to drink piss – no more water, milk, or whatever. Just our piss. And his own." Toru said all of that with a shit-eating grin. "What do you reckon, Hideki?"

Hideki was ready to sweep the whole thing aside as a joke, but when he saw Yamato looking up at him with such sad eyes, silently begging him not to do it – well, he just had to. He shrugged nonchalantly. "Fine with me."

Toru whooped. Eito shook his head, reluctantly remembering his earlier conversation with Taichi and thinking he had a point. He glanced at Yamato, who did look quite upset, though was trying to hide it.

"Taichi will benefit from this the most," Toru remarked with a grin. "If he ever needs to take a piss in the middle of the night, he doesn't even have to get out of bed. See, I'm not just thinking about me here."

Eito snorted. "I'm sure he'll appreciate it."  _Not_.

"And hey, you better not drink any water of any kind at school either," Toru told Yamato, his eyes narrowing. "Eito and Taichi will be watching you to make sure you don't."

"What if he gets thirsty?" Eito asked with scepticism, still thinking Toru was going a little overboard.

"Then he can go stand outside of the boys' toilets and beg the guys to piss in his mouth instead," Toru said with a laugh.

Eito rolled his eyes, knowing Toru wasn't being serious. That would  _definitely_  get people's attention.

" _Or_ ," Toru went on, smirking, "we could pack him a water bottle for school filled with our piss. Everyone will just think it's apple juice."

Eito shot Toru a look. "Stop."

Toru chuckled. "Here's a tip for you, Pup: whenever you need to pee, do it in your doggy bowl. You better learn to recycle or you'll dehydrate, because your piss could be the only thing we let you drink in a day."

Yamato wanted to protest so badly, but held his tongue. He told himself he could deal with it for a little while, and forced himself to believe that things would return to normal soon. That's all he could hope for. He just had to behave and convince them that he was genuinely sorry for disobeying them – and that he'd never do it again. Ever.

Toru sniggered at Yamato's less than happy expression. "Don't look so sad, Pup. Here, have a reward." He tugged at the leash, pulling Yamato up off the ground and onto the couch.

Hideki got off the couch to make room for the blond, taking the leash from Toru. "Get on your back," he told Yamato.

Yamato did as told, laying down with his body across the couch, and his head propped up on the armrest.

His brothers wasted no time in 'rewarding' him.

Hideki fed the head of his penis into the blond's mouth from above. "Suck."

As Yamato did so dutifully, he felt his legs being pushed into the air. Toru had taken a seat on the other end of the couch and was positioning himself behind the blond, putting on a condom.

Toru looked at Yamato's flaccid – but still impressive – penis. "You don't deserve to have our dick," he growled. "It's so fucking ironic when you don't even use it. All you want is to get pounded by dicks."

By now, Hideki had shoved his cock all the way down Yamato's throat.

"Dad's genes made you a man," Toru continued, as he squeezed some lube out to put on his condom-covered dick. "But your whore-mother's genes fucked that up for you and made you a faggot with a gaping backdoor cunt." He entered Yamato swiftly with one hard push.

Yamato stilled his jaw as he felt Toru thrust inside him, so that he didn't injure Hideki. Now that Toru was thrusting continuously inside him, it was a lot harder to deep throat Hideki and Yamato was a lot more careful with his mouth and jaw. He tried his hardest to make Hideki feel good, though.

"Yamato, do you ever think about sticking your dick in a girl?" Toru continued with his taunts, as he thrust roughly in and out of the blond. "I bet you don't, huh?"

Every time Hideki thrust down, Yamato's throat bulged with the head of his penis. Both Hideki and Toru found that amusing.

"Don't pretend you don't love being porked from both ends," Toru laughed, slapping Yamato's stomach hard. "This is every faggot's fantasy."

Yamato tried to tune him out and focussed on pleasuring Hideki. Toru's thrusts were becoming increasingly more erratic, obviously on purpose, and Yamato was finding it really difficult to deep throat Hideki in his current predicament. But he managed, somehow. The thought of possibly injuring Hideki and facing the consequences was keeping him super focussed.

"Eito, get over here," Toru grunted, shooting his younger brother a look – as though he shouldn't have needed to prompt him.

Eito hadn't intended to join them, because . . . well, he did feel a little sorry for Yamato. But at Toru's command, he got up and walked over to them, stopping at Yamato's side on the couch. He guided Yamato's closest hand to his penis, where the blond dutifully began stroking it.

But with his remaining free hand, Yamato subconsciously started to pull on his own penis.

" _Don't_ ," Toru grunted, pushing Yamato's hand away so that the blond couldn't pleasure himself.

Toru thrust harder and harder into Yamato until he was almost ready to climax. He pulled out abruptly, ripped his condom off, and starting stroking his penis. Shortly after, he came onto Yamato's stomach in a succession of jerky spurts.

Hideki, nearing his own orgasm, pulled out of Yamato's mouth. Instead of tugging at his own penis to ejaculate as Toru had done, Hideki instead pulled Yamato's free left arm up, indicating that he should finish him off with a hand job. Yamato did exactly as he was told, stroking Hideki's cock above his face. When Hideki came, Yamato knew not to move his face out of the way – he let his brother spray his seed all over his face.

A minute later, Eito shot his load onto Yamato's chest.

"Man, where's Taichi at – this would've been an awesome bonding experience for us," Toru chuckled. Even Hideki had to smirk at that.

"And what do you say, Pup?" Toru sneered at the blond, who had traces of cum on his face, chest and stomach.

"Thank you," Yamato answered, cheeks red. His father had taught him since he was little that he should always thank him and his brothers for making him feel 'good'.

"Don't let our jizz go to waste now," Toru told him mockingly. Yamato began scooping up their semen with his hands and bringing them to his mouth to eat. "Such a fag," Toru remarked, shaking his head. Yamato reddened further, but continued eating up their cum obediently.

Toru grabbed an inanimate object off the coffee table. "I bought this for you, too," he told Yamato. "It's the world's most comfortable butt plug – at least, according to the fag who sold it to me at the sex shop today. The reason I bought it is because it's eight inches long and six point five inches around." A giant grin stretched across his face. That was the exact measurements of their own penises – and Yamato was all too aware of that.

"This way you'll always, kinda, have us inside of you," Toru grinned. "Doesn't that turn you on, fag?" He didn't wait for an answer. "From now on this is considered your 'tail'. You are to wear it at all times while in this apartment, unless your cunt is being fucked by men. Understood?"

Yamato nodded as Toru slipped the anal plug into him easily enough, due to the prior assault on his arse just moments ago.

"How do you feel?" Toru asked. Of course, he didn't do it because he actually cared – he did it to degrade Yamato. "Well?"

Yamato wouldn't look him in the eye. His cheeks were permanently stained red. ". . . Good," he answered quietly, ashamed. He wasn't lying. He did actually feel good – and he hated it. He always hated it.

Toru laughed, and slapped Yamato's arse. "That's a good boy."

"Clean up this mess," Hideki ordered Yamato. "Then go wash yourself up before you cook us dinner."

"Dogs only eat once a day," Toru added with a smirk. "So forget about eating dinner."

Though Yamato would have usually liked to have dinner, he was relieved he wouldn't be forced to eat dog food twice in one day.

* * *

Taichi paused with his hand on his bedroom doorknob. He had just come home from dinner at Daisuke's – something he had done to prolong avoiding Yamato and his mistreatment for as long as possible. He didn't know what to expect.

Dinner at Daisuke's had been excellent – and his best friend had been surprisingly helpful. Taichi was glad he had told him he was gay. It was a relief. Someone other than himself knew he was gay – and didn't hate him for it. He smiled.

Taichi had thought the whole way home about what Daisuke had said – to go after what he wanted . . . but could he,  _really_ , actually do that?

Sighing, Taichi finally twisted the doorknob and let himself in.

The sight that greeted him was of Yamato lying flat on his stomach on his mattress, seemingly doing homework. Taichi could see the end of something protruding slightly out of Yamato's anus. But what really caught his attention was the fact that the blond was wearing a red dog collar around his neck – with a leash clipped onto it, leading to his bed. The handle of the leash was looped around Taichi's bedpost.

As Taichi stared in awe, Yamato had turned his head to look at him as he heard him enter. He turned away quickly though, embarrassed.

Taichi was still totally transfixed by the sight before him. On the one hand he was angry with the set-up – but on the other hand . . . it was a really hot sight.  _Fuck._  Taichi closed his bedroom door and locked it.

"What is with . . .?" he gestured at the leash and collar, before he dropped his school backpack onto the floor.

"Master Toru said I have to be tied up like this when I'm . . . not in use," Yamato answered, a light blush on his cheeks.

Taichi frowned, and sat down on the edge of his bed. "Yamato . . . come here." He indicated the spot next to him on the bed.

Yamato slowly dropped his pen and stopped doing his homework. Taichi wanted to use him. He got up and sat on the bed as he was told to do.

Taichi reached over and unclipped the leash from Yamato's collar. He couldn't help but notice the dog tag – shaped like a dog's bone – attached to the collar, especially since Yamato's name was engraved on it. He couldn't believe his brothers had taken it this far – but then again, he definitely could. He shook his head. He was just about to take the collar off as well when Yamato spoke up, stopping him.

"Master Toru said I have to wear the collar at all times in the apartment."

 _Fuck that_ , was Taichi's immediate thought. He started to undo the buckle – but then stopped. He sighed. It probably wasn't a good idea to remove it, if that's what his brothers had wanted. He reluctantly dropped his hands.

_This is so fucking insane._

Taichi was fully dressed in his school uniform – and Yamato was completely naked next to him, except for a red dog collar with a tag engraved with his name. He couldn't have thought this scene up as a child; he'd never have thought things would turn out like this. He wondered what his father would have thought of what his brothers were doing to Yamato . . .

Would he have put a stop to it? Or would he have allowed it?

Taichi honestly didn't know. But the silence between them was so uncomfortable. He was staring at Yamato, who was staring at a spot on the floor, to avoid his gaze.

Yamato was trying to figure out a way to tell Taichi that he could do anything he wanted, without sounding like he was giving him permission – because Taichi didn't need permission.

"I'm sorry, Master," Yamato spoke up suddenly, though in a barely audible voice, hesitant about it because Taichi hadn't spoken to him so he didn't have permission to speak.

Taichi's brows furrowed. "Don't call me that."

Yamato's face looked alarmed. "But Master Hideki said –"

"I don't care what Hideki said. In here, you call me 'Taichi', like always."

Yamato still looked unsure. "OK . . . Taichi." Why was Taichi still being nice to him? "But I'm sorry for – for yesterday . . ."

"For what?" Taichi asked.

"For . . . kissing . . . you . . ." Yamato regretted saying the words as soon as he spoke them.

Taichi stiffened. A moment passed. He sighed. " _I_  kissed  _you_ , Yamato."

Yamato didn't quite know how to respond. After another uncomfortable silence, he spoke up once more. "But . . . I'm sorry for . . . upsetting you . . ." He wasn't entirely sure what he'd done wrong, but Taichi had obviously been upset.

Taichi sighed again. "You didn't upset me."

Yamato paused in confusion. "But . . . you hit me . . ."

Taichi knew he should really be the one apologising. But he hadn't said 'sorry' to Yamato in a long time, and couldn't quite get his tongue to wrap around the word. Instead, he found himself bringing his face closer to Yamato's. Intense brown eyes stared into slightly alarmed blue eyes, until the brunet's eyes closed and his lips leaned forward and, once again, made contact with the other's lips.

This time, when Taichi opened his eyes and saw Yamato's eyes staring back at him with confusion and uncertainty, he didn't falter – he didn't look like a deer caught in headlights, didn't panic at what Yamato would think of his actions, didn't wrongly lash out at the blond.

He had made his choice.

He wanted Yamato.

_Breathe._

He wanted to taste him. To feel him. To love him.

Was that so wrong?

 _Yes_ , the back of his mind echoed,  _he's your brother._

Taichi closed his eyes again, squeezing his lids shut tight. No. He wasn't going to think about it. Thinking made everything worse. So, instead, he concentrated his thoughts on what he was actually doing: kissing Yamato. It felt good. Possibly the best kiss of his life. He'd kissed a few girls before, but they never felt like this. He actually felt . . . comfortable. Natural.  _Right_.

Yamato's lips were soft but firm, and the blond knew how to respond to his actions. Taichi was nipping at his upper lip; brushing his tongue lightly against Yamato's; sucking on his bottom lip. And Yamato reciprocated his actions well – like he just knew how to please him.

 _Or please everybody_ , the thought sliced through Taichi's mind.

He stopped kissing Yamato and pulled back, surveying the blond. He watched as Yamato's eyes fluttered open – he must've closed them shortly after Taichi had that second time. Yamato was looking at him now with a slightly panicked expression, as if anticipating his reaction – another punch, maybe?

But Taichi just continued to stare at him – at the sight of his beautiful little brother. The blond's eyes were so large and innocent, as though he had morphed back into the child Taichi once knew a decade ago. He could feel emotion bubbling up inside of him, and the words ' _I'm sorry_ ' were on the tip of his tongue.

But Yamato's eyes flickered down then, and Taichi stopped short to follow his gaze . . . to his own groin.

Taichi was aroused.

He had known he'd enjoyed kissing Yamato immensely, but to actually have an erection, just from kissing? When he'd first kissed Yamato he had been thinking of sex – intending to fuck him – so he was definitely hard then, but this time sex had been furthest from his mind. How was that even possible? He had just wanted to kiss Yamato, to apologise for hurting him, to make him feel better. It sounded childish – making his sore face better with a kiss? But that's what he felt. What he still felt. He hadn't noticed his erection at all.

Taichi could feel himself blushing slightly, and quickly stole a glance at Yamato's crotch – no erection. It was just him.

But Taichi still had a lot of pride and didn't want to seem embarrassed in front of Yamato. He quickly composed himself. So he had an erection – so what? No biggie.

_Well . . ._

Taichi smirked at his own joke, successfully clearing up his light blush.

It was at that moment that he found Yamato's hands had slowly reached out and touched the waistband of his school pants, and blue eyes had looked up to meet brown.

No words were exchanged, but Yamato was obviously asking him if it was OK to service him – and Taichi, feeling a little conflicted as to whether it was right or wrong, gave a slightly delayed, silent nod in answer.

Yamato unzipped Taichi's pants, pulling the material down along with his underwear, to expose the brunet's penis and testicles. He slid gracefully off the bed and onto the floor, so that he was on his knees before Taichi.

He looked up once to make eye contact with Taichi, as though making sure he really was OK with this. He could count how many times he'd given head to this particular brother on one hand – he'd sucked Taichi off less than five times in his entire life. He couldn't count how many times he'd done the same – and been fucked – by the rest of his brothers.

And this time, in particular, had been different. A lot different.

Taichi had kissed him.

Twice.

Why? He could only speculate. But Taichi hadn't been rough – excluding the punch the first time, that is. But, in contrast, the second time he hadn't hurt him, and his kiss had been gentler – sweeter. It felt almost like . . . a real kiss.

Yamato had been kissed hundreds, maybe thousands of times before by his 'clients', but they had mostly been sleazy – done to fulfil an animalistic desire. They didn't  _really_  want him – didn't mean them. But Taichi's kiss had felt authentic – as though he had meant it. In fact, the sweetness behind this second kiss reminded him of another person . . .

He liked it.

A lot.

As Yamato placed his lips over Taichi's penis, his thoughts wandered over to a certain black-haired teenager, and a warm feeling spread through his chest. That warmth occupied his thoughts and showed in his actions on Taichi's penis.

Taichi didn't want to admit it, but seeing Yamato suck him off while buck naked and wearing a dog collar was actually making him harder than he thought possible. He almost wanted to reach out a hand to grab hold of his collar and guide Yamato's head on his penis, but shook his head of the thought. That was going way too far. Besides, having a front row seat to Yamato's oral performance was more than hot enough.

It was surreal to Taichi to see Yamato take his cock – his thick, almost eight inch cock – all the way down his throat. The blond didn't appear to have a gag reflex. Taichi was thankful – because not only did it  _feel_  good, but it was also a marvellous sight to behold. But . . . he also felt guilty about it, as it obviously took Yamato years of training to be able to do . . .

_Stop thinking about depressing shit._

Taichi forced himself again to just focus on being in the moment. Yamato was deliberately avoiding eye contact with him, instead just staring straight ahead as he moved his blond head up and down his length. Taichi kept his volume in check just in case his brothers might hear them, but if he hadn't restrained himself, he was sure he'd have alerted his brothers with his moans.

_This feels fucking incredible._

Sensing that Taichi was nearing his orgasm, Yamato surprised the brunet by extending his tongue out and licking his balls, giving him a different sensation every time he got to the base of Taichi's penis.

_How the fuck is he doing that!?_

Taichi was sure Yamato was supernaturally gifted at sucking cock. He had his entire length down his throat and  _still_  managed to attack his testicles.

_Fuck._

Just before Taichi exploded, he could actually  _feel_  Yamato's throat muscles spasm around his cock. This was some Master Jedi shit – the blond  _had_  to be doing that on purpose. He timed it to coincide with Taichi's release. And fuck, did Taichi explode directly in Yamato's throat – which was a new experience for Taichi, too. One that he fucking loved and would do again, without question.

Taichi had somehow managed to keep himself from climaxing loudly, but he was still breathing heavily from the experience. Yamato had never sucked him off like that before – what made him decide to give him this first class service? Taichi couldn't believe Yamato had been holding back the previous times he had performed oral on him.

But Taichi was sure that meant Yamato had actually  _wanted_  to perform oral on him – and to do it to the best of his ability this time. He wondered if it was because of the kiss. Did Yamato . . .  _could_  Yamato . . . like him back?

Taichi could feel his excitement rise.

Yamato noticed, too. The blond returned his attention now back to Taichi's half-limp cock. He began to lick and suck at Taichi's manhood again, glancing up briefly to make sure Taichi was OK with it, awakening the brunet to another full erection.

If there was one positive thing Yamato could say about his brothers – depending on how you looked at it – it was their speedy recovery and endless energy. Taichi was erect again in minutes.

This time though, Yamato stood up from his position on the ground. Taichi gave a slight raise of an eyebrow, wondering what he was doing.

Yamato stared back at him with the same look in his eyes that he had when he'd silently asked to suck him off. But Taichi was a little confused – he'd already given him permission, after all, so what was he doing now?

Yamato just stood there as Taichi continued looking at him in slight confusion. He was unsure of what to do – unsure of how to initiate sex with Taichi. He was  _not_  usually the one to initiate anything with his brothers. His feeling of nervousness heightened – he had expected Taichi to do something by now. Was this not what the brunet had wanted? Yamato had been so sure . . .

After all, he was sure that's what Taichi had been after yesterday, with his cock pressed against his arse. But Yamato had been too upset about the new rules then – and he still was, but he'd had time to grow more accustomed to them now. And, though a part of him still wanted to remain untouched by the last member of his family who had yet to have sex with him, his feelings were conflicted over the fact that  _Taichi_  was that family member – because he was also the one Yamato  _most_  wanted to please out of all of them. He was OK with it if Taichi wanted to have sex with him. He'd been so nice to him this week. Maybe like the kiss they'd just shared, his brother would be gentle . . .

Yamato cleared his throat. "Do you want me to . . . remove . . .?" he asked, gesturing at his arse – or, rather, what was currently occupying it. His cheeks reddened.

 _Holy shit_ , Taichi thought as it suddenly clicked. Now he knew where Yamato was going with this. The blond stood completely naked before him – and though the thought of sex was fucking hot – Taichi found his gaze being transfixed entirely on Yamato's dick.

Taichi could barely think straight. Yamato was exposed, right in front of him, right  _for_  him, and all he wanted to do was lean forward just a little bit and take the blond's cock into his mouth. The thought of sucking Yamato off was hot. But was he actually willing to do it? Yesterday, he had been straight. Well, OK, struggling to be straight. But he couldn't lie to himself now – he wanted to blow Yamato.

Only that involved opening up his mouth and . . .  _servicing_  the blond.

And that just didn't sit right with him.

_Fuck._

Yamato had been at his service – literally and figuratively – since they were kids, in all essence of the word. It was one thing for Yamato to suck him off, but for him to do it for the blond? He wasn't there yet. He knew he  _wanted_  to – but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. And it wasn't what Yamato was asking, anyway.

It was pretty obvious his brother wanted him to fuck him.

And,  _god_ , he wanted to.

But Taichi knew that Yamato had been through a lot in the past few days..

"You're . . . you're hurt," Taichi replied, though he was unable to keep a tinge of disappointment from his voice. "That man yesterday . . ." He really wanted to have sex with Yamato, but he didn't want to hurt him.

"I'm OK," Yamato answered. Though he was a little sore from Toru earlier (not that Taichi knew about that), he really felt like he owed his brother this. His customer yesterday hadn't been one of the more violent ones, anyway. "That man was . . . small . . . and nice." He had been pretty normal with no odd fetishes – apart from liking teenage boys. "I'm OK Taichi, really, so if you want to . . ."

Taichi looked from Yamato's face, to his chest, to his abdomen, to his cock, and back to his face. The blond boy standing before him was simply beautiful, despite the scars and bruises that adorned his body.

Taichi felt his resolve give. He really did want to be intimate with Yamato. "OK," Taichi relented, his heart racing at the prospect of what was going to happen. "Wait here while I go get some condoms."

Yamato nodded his head obediently.

* * *

Taichi waited a bit longer for his erection to go down, so that it wouldn't be noticeable, before he knocked on Eito's door. Though he could get the items he wanted without alerting anyone, he could never bring himself to enter the 'rent room' – it was like a sex dungeon and it made him feel really uncomfortable. The last time he was in there he had watched, briefly, Toru and some of his college friends gang rape Yamato . . . before he had to leave the room because it had bothered him. A lot.

It only took a few short seconds for his brother to open the door to his bedroom.

Eito surprisingly looked as though he was expecting him. "Is this about Yamato – ?"

"I need some condoms," Taichi requested bluntly, cutting him off. He wouldn't have minded having another conversation about Yamato, though. He made a mental note to bring it up another time – when his focus wasn't on sex.

Eito's eyebrows shot up in surprise, before he broke out into a grin. "Finally! Fuck, it took you a while, bro."

"Shut up," Taichi retorted, walking into Eito's room as his brother moved away from the door.

Eito chuckled. "So who's the lucky girl?" he asked, as he opened up his bedside table's drawer for some condoms.

Taichi paused at the word 'girl'. "None of your business," he decided upon saying.

"Fine, don't tell me." Eito held his hands up with a grin. "Here," he offered Taichi a box of Trojan Magnum XL. "You don't need me to show you how to put it on, do you?" He quirked an amused eyebrow.

"I can manage," Taichi retorted, then reddened slightly. "I . . . need lube, too."

Eito laughed. "Is it the girl's first time, too? Are you afraid she won't get wet enough?"

Taichi gave him the finger. "Just give me some lube."

"OK, OK," Eito chuckled, looking through his drawer again for some KY Jelly. "Here," he offered the younger brunet with a sly grin. "Have fun, man. Your first time will probably suck, but it'll get better the more you do it. Trust me."

Taichi nodded, taking the lube while mumbling a quick "thanks" to his brother, before leaving and closing the door behind him.

He walked back to his room slowly, acting like he was in no rush. When he got back, he quickly closed –  _and_   _locked_  – the door behind him. He'd learnt his lesson when Toru had interrupted their make-out session yesterday.

Taichi saw that Yamato had made his way back to his own mattress on the floor, probably in case one of the others were to find him on Taichi's bed when the door wasn't locked. But now that Taichi was back, Yamato slowly got back up onto his bed. Taichi joined him.

_This is really happening . . ._

He opened the box of condoms and ripped one packet free, before carefully opening it and taking the actual condom out.

Yamato reached a hand over and began stroking Taichi's penis to make it fully erect, which didn't take long at all as Taichi had already been half-erect. But when Taichi was ready, he just kind of stared at the condom in his hand.

"Want me to . . .?" Yamato spoke up, gesturing at the condom.

Taichi let him have it without a word.

Yamato pinched the tip of the condom before rolling it down Taichi's shaft. He was really quick and made it look so simple. Well, maybe it was simple – Taichi had just never done it before.

Yamato then turned around to lie face down on the bed, with his arse to Taichi. Taichi's eyes couldn't help but trace the welts and bruises across his back, and the cigarette burns along the back of his upper arms. He knew the other side wasn't as bad.

"No," the brunet voiced, his hand hooking over Yamato's stomach to motion for him to turn back around. "I want to see your face."

Yamato flushed a little, but did as instructed. In this position, he reached both of his hands down to secure his penis and testicles from being in Taichi's way.

Taichi got between Yamato's legs and placed a hand on the object embedded in Yamato's arse. He looked at the blond to signal to him that he was going to remove it now. Yamato nodded. Taichi pulled it out slowly – and god damn was it bigger than he thought it would be – and placed it on a plastic bag on his bedside table.

"Are you OK?" Taichi asked, glancing at Yamato before looking at his anus. The blond was . . . very open, due to the butt plug up his arse just moments ago. He'd never seen Yamato that open before and he couldn't help but stare.

"I'm fine," Yamato responded quietly, face crimson. He knew exactly what Taichi was staring at – and wished he'd just hurry up and get on with it.

Taichi seemed to read his thoughts, and applied lube all over his condom-covered shaft. He also placed a generous amount on Yamato's anus, then positioned himself as best he could at his entrance.

He made eye contact with Yamato, who nodded at him to continue.

Taichi pushed in.

_Fuck._

Yamato was so hot inside.  _Too_  hot. It almost felt like his dick was on fire – but in a  _good_  way.

A very,  _very_  good way.

"Are you OK?" Taichi repeated. He was  _inside_ , it was too hot, and he wanted to  _move_. But he had to make sure Yamato wasn't hurt.

Luckily, Yamato nodded at him with a small smile.

That was all Taichi needed.

He pulled back a little, thrust in a second time, pulled back again, thrust in a third, and back out again. Even though he had slid in fairly easily, Yamato's inner walls weren't all that welcoming at first; he could feel some resistance against his thrusts, but as he went on he could feel the walls lessen – which made it even better. It was like he was thrusting into a heated glove that just fit and molded itself perfectly around his penis. He managed to repeat his thrusting motions some more times, before he couldn't take the heat anymore.

He lay on top of Yamato as he orgasmed – prematurely.

When he was done, he stayed there with his head next to Yamato's, face in the pillow. He could feel Yamato breathing beneath him as his body moved up and down with every intake and out take of breath.

_How long did I last . . .?_

It was definitely no more than a couple of minutes. He knew his face was red – and not just from climaxing, but from the embarrassment he was feeling.

_What was that – like, a minute . . . a minute and a half? Fuck._

"Taichi . . .?" the blond's quiet voice cut through the silence.

The brunet lifted his torso up, his elbows between Yamato's armpits, and stared down at his brother's face. "Sorry," he mumbled. He slipped his now-limp dick out of Yamato as he sat up properly.

But Yamato shook his head. "I'm sorry, Taichi. It was my fault, I'll be better next time –"

"How could it be your fault? It was mine, Yamato."

Yamato didn't know what to say. He was so used to apologising for everything, it just came naturally to him. In the end, he chose not to answer – but instead, just got up and bent forward, sliding the used condom off of Taichi's dick. He enclosed the tip of Taichi's penis with his mouth, sucking the cum that still hung there from his recent orgasm, until Taichi was dry.

Taichi had watched all of this and found his actions incredibly hot. And yet, it did make him feel uncomfortable that Yamato was much,  _much_  more experienced with sex than he was.

"Let's try again," Taichi told him, before correcting himself – that sounded too much like a command. " _Can_  we try again?" he asked.

Yamato looked up at him from his position before the brunet's penis, surprise marring his features. Did Taichi just ask for his permission? He swallowed. "If that's what you want," he told him.

"But is that what  _you_  want?" Taichi asked.

Yamato paused, before answering. He wasn't  _against_  it . . . and the fact Taichi was actually  _asking_  him made him want to. "I want to make you happy."

That wasn't exactly the answer Taichi was looking for. "Yamato," he began, "I only want to try it again if you want too, as well."

"I . . . I don't mind," Yamato voiced quietly.

That still wasn't as definitive an answer that Taichi had wanted. But, he reasoned, Yamato probably wasn't even capable of . . . well . . .  _thinking_  for himself. He hated thinking that – but it was true.

"OK," Taichi accepted that was the most Yamato was going to give him. "Let's try again."

It took about five minutes of Yamato stroking Taichi to get him properly erect again and ready for penetrative action. But this time Taichi put the condom on himself, mimicking what he had seen Yamato do for him. It actually  _was_  pretty easy, you just had to put it on the right way.

Once the condom was on, Taichi pushed Yamato down gently onto the bed again, and kissed him. Yamato, by now, was used to it and returned the kiss automatically.

Ending the kiss, Taichi got on his knees and used his hands to roam all over Yamato's body. The blond's body was hard – not soft like a girl's. Taichi preferred it. He rubbed Yamato's chest, nipples, abdomen – he just loved the feel of him at his fingertips.

Yamato couldn't stop blushing as Taichi explored his body with his eyes and hands.

Eventually, Taichi's hands roamed down to Yamato's thighs, and he lifted them up, bending the blond's knees, giving him access to his anus.

Taichi made eye contact with Yamato again.

And he pushed in.

Being inside Yamato was just as hot as the first time, but this time Taichi knew what he was going to feel – and felt he could better control how he was feeling. His thrusts were staggered, shaky, a bit awkward – but it got better. Yamato was making some noises, which gave Taichi confidence that he was doing OK. He smiled.

Yamato tried to relax his sphincter as much as possible, so that Taichi wasn't stimulated to another early orgasm. It was also going to be Taichi's third orgasm that day in as little as half an hour, so everything was in the brunet's favour for a delayed orgasm. And, for someone very new to sex, Yamato thought Taichi was doing a decent job.

Maybe it was just because he had a big penis. Yamato always felt so fulfilled with large dicks – of course, it was significantly better if the person knew what they were doing. Taichi was new to this, but he was getting there. Yamato liked that he wasn't as rough as his other brothers. He could actually  _enjoy_  having a large cock fill him up completely without any pain.

_In, out, in, out, in, out . . ._

Every stroke made Taichi feel hotter and hotter. Like the first time, it was  _too_  hot. His dick tingled in all directions, but he tried his hardest not to ejaculate. However, since he was staring directly at Yamato who was too god damn hot, it was a struggle and a half.

But this time Taichi managed to hang on for close to ten minutes. He grunted as he came a third time – second, inside Yamato – his head over one of the blond's shoulders as he tried to make as little noise as possible. That had felt incredible to him.

It took Taichi a minute to realise that Yamato hadn't ejaculated with him; the blond wasn't doing anything really, but lying underneath him, silent and unmoving.

"What's wrong?" Taichi asked him, supporting his upper torso with his elbows as he hovered above Yamato. His flaccid length was still inside the blond.

"Nothing," Yamato responded timidly, before looking up at him respectfully – as he had been trained to do. "You were great, Taichi, thank you," he complimented his brother, as he'd done many times, to many men before him.

Taichi frowned a little, looking down at Yamato's penis between them. "You didn't come," he said, disappointed.

"It's OK," Yamato was quick to reassure Taichi. "I don't usually come from just . . . that." He blushed a little, before reassuring his brother again – he didn't want him to feel self-conscious about it. "But you were great, Taichi, really." He nodded his head as though to confirm it.

Taichi stared at him for a while with a frown, making Yamato a little uneasy, before gently pulling out of Yamato and discarding his used condom n his bedside table. He reached down and grabbed the younger boy's half-limp cock, and started to jack him off. He didn't yet feel that he could perform oral on Yamato, but he figured a hand job wasn't as intimate, and he really wanted to do something for him.

Startled, Yamato spoke up. "I – I can do that, Taichi."

"No, I'll do it," Taichi told him. His tone left no room for objections.

Yamato didn't know what to say, so he slowly pulled his hand back. Taichi reached over and quickly squeezed out a small gob of lube, before quickly going back to stroking his brother's penis. He was going to make Yamato come.

Taichi thought the experience of giving Yamato a hand job was surreal. In his  _hand_  was his brother's sexual organ. He loved the feel of it, of it not being his own, but Yamato's. Their penises were almost identical, save for the contrasting skin tones and the fact that Yamato was circumcised and Taichi was not. Taichi stroked, pulled and tugged with vigour – determined to make the blond come.

After a few minutes, Yamato sat up slowly from his position. "Taichi, I'm going to – that's . . . that's enough . . ."

Taichi looked at him with slight confusion, but slowed down his strokes nonetheless. "That's OK, you can come . . . I  _want_  you to come."

"Thanks," Yamato replied, blushing faintly. "But I can take it from here. I don't want you to get your hand . . . dirty. I'll – I'll just go to the bathroom and finish off. I . . . I mean, if you'll let me –"

"No, it's fine," Taichi replied, insistent. He was frowning slightly. "Just come, Yamato."

Yamato was nothing if not obedient. He forced himself to relax again and closed his eyes as Taichi jerked him off. After all the stimulation he'd felt from Taichi – and from his eldest brothers, earlier – he was ready to explode. Thick spurts of cum landed on his stomach, as Taichi was jerking his dick that way.

Taichi grabbed some tissues and proceeded to clean Yamato up with it, all the while with the blond watching him intently. When Taichi was done, Yamato reached over to grab his anal plug, with the intention of placing it back inside himself. But Taichi's hand grasped his wrist before he could take the object.

"No," Taichi told him. "You can leave that out."

Faint surprise spread across Yamato's face, and his head cocked to the side slightly in curiosity.

 _Stop being so fucking cute._ "We're done for today," Taichi continued. "Let's go to sleep."

Yamato took a moment to search Taichi's eyes, but they reflected nothing. He nodded his head obediently and began to get off Taichi's bed to lay down on his mattress.

"No," Taichi said again. "You can sleep in my bed."

Yamato stopped still. After a moment, he nodded. "OK," he voiced quietly, and slid back into Taichi's bed again. He was on the side closest to the wall, and turned to face the wall – away from Taichi – as he covered himself up with Taichi's sheets.

Taichi nodded his head too, and followed Yamato under the covers. "Just . . ." he spoke up, but then hesitated.

He wasn't sure if he could trust Yamato. Fuck, Yamato was probably thinking the same thing about  _him_  – but the blond had more to lose in trusting him than Taichi did. Still, Taichi had dove into this 'thing' with Yamato, whatever it was – and he'd have to try his hardest not to let others know about it.

"Don't tell anyone," Taichi finally continued. "Don't tell anyone about what just happened, or that I let you sleep in my bed . . . OK? Not Hideki, not Toru, not Eito – not anyone."

Yamato nodded his head automatically, and also voiced a soft, "I won't, I promise." His sexual experience with Taichi had been a lot different to his sexual experiences with his other brothers. Even when Eito pretended he was a girl and had 'normal' sex with him, he never touched Yamato intimately or kissed him . . . but Taichi had. Yamato could only come to one conclusion. And so, with more courage than he thought he had, he asked his brother a question. "Taichi . . .?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you . . ." He swallowed. ". . . Gay?" The last word was quieter than the preceding ones. Even if all of Taichi's actions had leaned towards his being gay, Yamato still felt scared to ask. He hoped he didn't offend him.

A long silence stretched out, and Yamato regretted asking the question. He was about to open his mouth and apologise profusely when –

"Yeah," Taichi finally answered quietly, accepting it 100 per cent. He'd done too much for it not to be true. He couldn't deny it any longer. "Yeah, I am."

Yamato wasn't sure if he was more surprised with Taichi's answer itself – or the fact Taichi had even answered him.

But now Yamato understood, at least a little, what was going on in Taichi's mind and why the brunet's behaviour had changed since the start of the week. Taichi was gay – had probably just realised he was gay. Taichi was gay and, understandably, was having a difficult time with it.

"Taichi . . . it's OK," Yamato told him, hoping it would reassure him a little. He thought about their brothers, because he knew Taichi must've, too. "They won't hate you . . . even if you are gay. They'll still love you."

Taichi placed a hand on Yamato's shoulder, and forced him to turn around to look at him. "Yeah?" he asked. "How do you know?"

Yamato looked at the small space of mattress between them, averting his eyes from the brunet for a few seconds. "Because . . . because you're not me," Yamato finally answered in a whisper. "They'd never hate you . . . for anything."

Taichi stared back at Yamato silently. His words actually made him feel both comforted and . . . sad. He wondered if Yamato knew that his own blue eyes were a little wet from tears. Well, he must've – because he blinked his tears back a second later.

Since Yamato had asked him, Taichi thought now was as perfect as any time to get a definitive answer from the blond regarding his own sexuality. "Yamato . . ." Taichi began. "You're gay, too, right?" He really hoped their sexual encounter wasn't just because Yamato felt as though he couldn't refuse him.

Yamato stilled. For his entire life his brothers had called him every derivative of the word 'homosexual', and he'd never responded to their taunts. He was sure they only said it to insult him, but if they knew he was actually gay, they would be way harsher on him. But Taichi had just admitted to him that  _he_  was gay. He could trust him. Right?

Hesitating a little, Yamato opened his mouth to respond. ". . . Yes." He'd known for a long time that he was gay. As a child, he used to go through store catalogues in the mail and looked at the men advertising clothes. And he'd even liked watching Hideki and Toru work out. So he'd known he was gay, even if he didn't know the definition of the word at the time. He just didn't want to tell his brothers, because with their endless homophobic insults towards him, it was obvious that being gay was wrong to them.

Taichi's heart leapt at that single admission, because it was what he had wanted to hear – and it also gave a lot more weight to what they had done.

"I won't tell," Taichi said. "If you won't?"

"I wouldn't . . . I wouldn't say anything you didn't want me to say," Yamato promised him. Figuring that their conversation was done, he slowly turned back to face the wall again.

That  _was_  the answer Taichi had wanted, but he was saddened that Yamato was so . . .  _submissive_. He wondered if the old Yamato – the one who argued with him freely over video games and crayons and cookies – was even still in there. It was unlikely.

If Taichi had to pinpoint when Yamato's personality had seemed to change drastically, it was probably after the blond's seventh birthday. Their father had given Yamato his harmonica then – and Hideki  _really_  didn't like that.

Their eldest brother subdued Yamato whenever he deemed that he had 'misbehaved' – the irony, of course, being that Yamato was always the most well-behaved out of all of them. He was quiet, polite, obedient, and respected his older brothers immensely thanks to their father.

But Hideki had started placing Yamato in an empty toy box for a few hours at a time, gradually leaving him in there for up to an entire day. Hideki would put Yamato in a big kid's diaper and lock him in the toy box in the morning. He wouldn't let him out until nighttime, where Yamato would have soiled his diaper with piss and faeces, living in his mess all day, with no food or water. Yamato slowly got more and more reserved and pulled into himself.

Taichi wondered if Yamato had questioned his love for him then – after all, while Yamato was being punished, Taichi had done close to nothing. Did Yamato lose trust in him? Was that why the blond had pulled away and their bond had lessened?

In a strange way, Yamato had been their father's favourite son. Their father had beaten him and treated him differently than the rest of them, but he also spent the most time with Yamato. Taichi knew Hideki would lash out at Yamato whenever he thought their father was playing favourites with the blond.

Taichi wondered if Yamato even remembered the time when they were best friends. Or had bad memories of his life after that point filled his head?

Yamato had been through so much. Taichi knew he wanted to help him; to make his life better. But . . . their older brothers were a very real problem. The thought of going against them actually . . .  _frightened_  him. He did love them and, before, he thought he could trust them . . . but what if Yamato was wrong, and they did turn against him?

The idea was ridiculous – and at the same time, a possibility. After all, they did treat Yamato like that – and if they could do that to Yamato, what stopped them from treating Taichi that way if he went against their wishes?

Taichi sighed. This was so fucked up. What was he even thinking? Of course his brothers wouldn't hurt him . . . right? They had never hurt him before. Ever.

And yet . . . a small part of Taichi was still scared of them. Scared of what they were capable of doing. He'd witnessed too much of their hatred, anger and violence to know better than to think they weren't a threat at all.

He had to wait until Yamato turned twenty. After he hit that age, he'd no longer be under Hideki's control, in the eyes of the law. Taichi could get Yamato out of harm's way then, because Taichi would be out a year before, too.

But four years was a long time.

Taichi hoped that Yamato could endure his treatment for another four years.

_I'm sorry, Yamato. Please just wait. Please just hold on._

Taichi had never been fond of hugs – it was Yamato who had wanted,  _needed_ , hugs from him. And Taichi had always allowed him the comfort. Well, he used to. Back when they were children.

But Taichi wasn't a child anymore. And yet, he found himself reaching his arms out – and embracing Yamato, spooning him from behind. Yamato may have been naked, but there was nothing sexual about their contact. Taichi just wanted to give him a hug.

Yamato opened his eyes in surprise. It'd been a long time since he'd felt Taichi's arms around him like this. He could feel his brother's warmth spread through his body. He liked the comfort and security. He slowly placed one of his hands in one of Taichi's.

 _Yamato . . ._ Taichi thought as he looked at his brother's form next to him, intertwining their fingers together.  _I love you._

He wanted to voice it, to tell Yamato that – but for someone whose peers had always viewed as courageous, it was ironic that, right now, Taichi wasn't brave enough.

He wondered if Yamato even loved him back – even if it was  _just_  as a brother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sadly, this is the end. I know it’s not a resolution – the Taito isn’t even mutual yet! – but it’s going to have to do, I’m afraid. I actually put more than I originally intended in this chapter (hence the length), just because I knew it would be the last one I could get out. Some scenes were extended – as organically as I could extend them. The Taito one was a freakin’ doozy. I hope you liked that!
> 
> Someone suggested I release an outline of the plot. If enough people are still interested in this story, I will. Please also feel free to ask me any questions at all, so I can answer them for you in that next “update” so that all bases are covered. I’ve accepted that I’m never going to finish this story, so I’m open to releasing all the major plot points. So please be aware: the next “update” to this story will not be a chapter seven, but an outline of the plot and a Q&A.
> 
> The original ending of this story, conceived way back in 2007, was actually going to be sad (so even though I said it was “ending” Taito . . . it was and it wasn’t, lol). A sad ending is actually much more realistic . . . However, I started to consider the possibility of a happy ending around 2009 – and introduced Takeru into the story for it to happen. It’s not as realistic, but at this point, I do want Yamato to have a happy ending instead of a tragic one. It’s a good thing this is a fanfic. Unfortunately, though, we will never see it come to fruition. ^^;
> 
> It took me a long time to finish this chapter. Please take two minutes of your time to let me know your thoughts on it. Thank you once again to everyone who has ever left me a supportive review – I hope you enjoyed this ‘final’ chapter in some capacity, wherever you are in your lives. :)


End file.
